Curse of the Nanban Mirror
by CM Aeris
Summary: SI I am a victim of the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. However, Jusenkyo does not exist. It's supposed to be a place, made up by a crack job of an author. So how did I end up cursed and lost? Well, it started with a crack mirror...-DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

CM Aeris: I just can't resist myself (sheepish grin) SIs are just so much fun to play with! But Katsu is more of an OC than an actual SI… (shrugs)

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"Where on earth am I now!?" I growled to myself in the busy streets of what is possibly Nerima with a map in my hand and lost in my way. To my displeasure, a car passed and splashed the puddle of water from the curb and drenched me from head to toe.

I am a victim of the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. However, Jusenkyo does not exist in my world. It's supposed to be a fictional place, made up by a crack job of an author. So how did I end up cursed and lost in this fictional world? Well, it all started with a crack mirror.

**Prologue: Bad Luck All Over**

"Katsuki! Go help before I break that damn laptop of yours!" dad snapped almost furiously.

"Why can't Genyu do it?" I retorted, but put my beloved laptop back into my bag securely and slipped my arms through the straps. I know dad's temper; he would break it, if I give him an excuse to.

"Quit being so lazy and just go do it! I want us at the new house with everything before tonight!" he said as he hauled the mini fridge down the stairs.

"Hai, hai. How come ni-chan and nee-chan doesn't have to help?" I grumbled under my breath and stalked over to the pile of boxes stacked neatly in the living room by mom for easy moving. However, when I picked up the first box, something fell out and cracked loudly. "Ah crap!" I hissed and quickly placed down the box and picked up the broken mirror. "Dad's going to kill me! Hey wait… what's this?" I squinted to read the faded words etched onto the base of the mirror's handle. "N-a-n-b-a-n Mirror. Nanban mirror! Hey, wait isn't that—"

Before I could say another word, the mirror glowed and pulled me into the spider cracks of the mirror. Dad always said that I'll go insane one of these days because of anime… and I'm starting to think he's right. It can't be normal to be sucked into a mirror and spat out into a valley of countless springs right? Regardless the answer, I gave a startled shout as I plummeted into the cold spring below.

At least I can swim, I wasn't really sure how deep the spring was, but I had to get out quickly! I had electronics on me and they're expensive to replace! When I surfaced, I hadn't expected to hear a man shout in horror and talk rapidly in what I think might be Chinese. I'm not sure; my first language is Japanese and second is English.

"_Aiya! __Ni diao jin chu le_!" he shouted before hauling me out of the water.

"What?" I was puzzled. "Can you…" my eyes widened as I quickly placed a hand to my throat. "My voice!"

"Ah, dear customer Japanese?" he asked me again.

"Of course I'm Japanese! Do you think I'm American!?" I snapped back furiously before patting down my chest. "Where am I and what happened to me!?"

"Dear customer, you're in the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. And you've fallen into the spring of—" I abruptly cut him off.

"Jusenkyo!? Jusenkyo isn't real! How can I be in Jusenkyo!?" I snapped hysterically. "I can't have…" I lowered a hand to pat myself at the front before letting out a scream.

"Calm down customer!" the guide pleaded me to.

"CALM DOWN!? I'm an aqua-transsexual! My dad is going to kill me… well, maybe he won't kill me, but I'll be laughed at until I'm twenty by him!" just then, something clicked in my memory and I grabbed the guide by the collar. "Where is the other spring? Where is the Spring of the Drowned Girl!?"

"I do not know!" he whimpered.

"How can you not know!? You're the guide aren't you!?" I snapped, shaking him up a little bit out of my rage.

"I am sorry dear customer! I do not know the location without the map! I only know the story of the spring after someone has fallen in! The map is with my daughter!" he pleaded.

"When is your daughter coming back?" I snapped.

"I do not know! She never stays in one place for long and she doesn't come back that often!"

My hopes dropped. "So there is no cure?" I whispered.

"Hot water would reverse the curse," he quipped.

"I know that already," I muttered and released him. My head dropped in disappointment before I caught sight of my reflection in the spring. "Hmm… At least I'm good looking!" I grinned and posed for myself. The guide sweat dropped at my sudden vanity. I'll tell you, it's inherited. "I would date myself if he didn't look like a pretty face with no brains."

That is how I, Katsuki Shinochi was cursed to transform into a man with a touch of cold water. Sad isn't it? But my troubles don't end there. It wasn't until I've reached the Japanese Embassy that I realized what else would be plaguing me during my temporary stay in this world.

"Dear customer, this is the Japanese Embassy. I will return to Jusenkyo and wait for my daughter's return." He bowed politely to me.

"I'll send you my address when I get back to Japan." I'm not even sure if my family is even in this crazy world.

"I wait for you mail soon!" the guide said before he finally left.

I took a deep breath and sighed, now come the hard part. If I'm really in that messed up world. It might be very easy or very hard to get my legal documents and back to Japan. Above all, I need to use the phone; my cell phone wasn't getting any reception at all. It was fortunate that my bag was waterproof so everything in it was safe and sound. Even with me plunging into the spring, I'm almost dry from the walk to the embassy from the nasty heat.

"_She me shi!_" the man snapped at me.

I raised an eyebrow but held my tongue. "Can you repeat that in Japanese please? I don't speak Chinese."

"Can I help you?" the man asked, this time slightly more polite, but there was a calculating look behind it.

"Yes, my name is Katsuki Shinochi; I've lost my identification papers and need a new set to return to Japan." I've asked politely. Mom always said being polite is always the best thing to do.

"Alone?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, baiting him to continue asking.

"It is improper for a Japanese young woman to be traveling alone, is it not?" he asked.

"I don't believe there is a rule stating that a woman cannot travel alone," I retorted.

He bellowed in laughter. "You can't possibly be a Japanese woman. You're too defiant! Good try though Chinese woman."

I was furious. "What do you mean good try!? I am Japanese! What year are you living in? 1950s!?"

"We're in 1970 actually," he grinned smugly.

My fire suddenly disappeared. "Pardon? Can you repeat that? What year did you say this was?"

"It's August 1, 1972. Did you hit your head or are you just playing stupid miss?" he snorted.

I gritted my teeth. "I'm sorry to have troubled you. Excuse me," I quickly turned my heel and stormed out of the room.

However, before I left, I managed to snatch a newspaper from the empty desk around the corner before heading out of the embassy. After walking a good few blocks from the embassy, I finally took a look at the papers. What I saw terrified me to no ends. On the paper was the date August 1, 1972, stating an old issue about the US's return Okinawa to Japan. These papers wouldn't be in such a clean and crisp condition if they were old. Papers over thirty years old would only be found in the library and in the well preserved section.

"Thirty years… Not only I'm in the anime world. I'm thirty fucking years in the past!" I cursed under my breath when I realized another problem. "Damn sexist bastards." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I guess I have no other choice…"

I pulled out the bottle of water the guide gave me and dunked it over my head. I unbutton a few more buttons on my shirt and hesitantly took off the bra before rumpling the rest of my clothes to give me the ragged look. If these sexist bastards want a man, I'll give them a fucking man so manly, they'll be begging me to go back to Japan.

And you know what? They gave me the papers just after a casual chat and a few perverted jokes. Man, what I won't give to go back to my time. At least during my time, I wouldn't have to deal with as much sexism. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of money dated back to the 1970s, but I did have enough for a boat ride back to Japan. It's going to be a long and torturous ride back, I can feel it.

While I waited for my boat to arrive, thoughts about the Ranma series started surfacing and trying to recollect every memory I had of the series and writing it down almost immediately in fear that I'll forget. I'll have to type it up in my laptop later and burn the paper copy. Being thirty years in the past means I can't exactly just whip out my laptop and start typing anywhere. That's just inviting trouble with a big banner saying free buffet to a bunch of wolves. Sadly, this world is the definition of trouble.

"Saotome Ranma! DIE!" someone screamed out. I quickly dropped to the ground covering my head as spears and various other weapons flew over head and embedded at the ship. Ranma?! Why is he here of all times!? "Get off the floor Saotome! I want to see you die begging for mercy, not cowering."

Wait… is he… talking to me? I looked up and saw a familiar white outfit with chains of weapons coming out of his long and wide sleeves. Is that… Mousse? But more importantly. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING RANMA!? AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ATTACKING ME!? Do I look like a girl to you, you sexist bastard?!" I almost bit my tongue, I shouldn't have shouted that. Ah… I can fix this? I hope…

Mousse adjusted his glasses even more so and invaded my personal space. "You're really not Ranma?"

I had to shove him back. "Ever heard of personal space, blind boy? And I told you I'm not Ranma! Who has a girly name like orchid pony? If it's a guy, he's a pussy!" I hope mauling Ranma's wild horse to an orchid pony won't come back and bite me in the ass later.

To my great relief, Mousse started laughing and retracted all his weapons. "A-an o-orchid p-p-p-pony!!! AHAHAHHAHAA!!!!!" he collapsed on the ship's deck and laughed until his sides hurt.

The captain of the ship approached us cautiously. "Is… everything all right here?"

I quickly waved it off. "It's just a misunderstanding."

"And the damages… who would pay for the damages on my ship?" asked the captain.

"Uh… he…" I cupped a hand near the captain's ear and whispered. "Pass the bill to Saotome Genma in the Tendo residence in Nerima. He's in charge of this young man and would happily pay for all the damages he has done to your ship."

The captain looked at me funny, but I laughed sheepishly trying to fan off the suspicion. "Very well, make sure you take care of this friend of yours."

"Oh I will captain!" I saluted before he left. By the time he was gone, Mousse was still laughing his ass off on the floor and the ship has taken off. "I'm sure it's not that funny. How can anyone laugh over it this long?" I quietly snuck away from him and hid at the upper deck until the ship finally docked two hours later.

During that time period, I've figured out a few important details. First, if Mousse had never met Ranma, it means it's still pretty early in the series, but the main fiancés should be already in play. Second, none of the characters should be remotely dangerous at this point... to each other, but I'm quite sure they're still quite dangerous to a civilian like me… I better find a teacher or at least a human shield soon.

When the ship finally landed, I stayed hidden in a large crowd, waiting until Mousse was long out of sight. I quickly caught the next train and hurried over to the new house, but when I rang the door, it was a complete stranger at the other side. Thirty years in the past and a completely different world should be two good hints that they're not here. Can't blame me for hopeful thinking, right? I apologized and left promptly.

Now the big question, what am I going to do until I find a way back home? I have no money, no house, and no connections. The only things I have on me are identification papers and technology that hasn't even been developed yet. I sighed in defeat as I wandered aimlessly; I spent the last of my money on the train to the house. I don't even have enough money for a can of soda.

Furious, I kicked a wall and it promptly exploded in my face. I can't possibly have demolished the stupid thing! And I haven't, sliding out of the rubble was Ranma. I watched in dumb shock as he ran off, leaving me covered in the mess and a high suspect of demolishing the poor wall. I was accused and roped into working off the damage before I knew what was going on. I didn't even get a chance to protest… At least I have a source of income now… while paying off his mess… Note to self, I am so calling him an orchid pony the next time I see him.

**Chapter One: To School! To Learn! To Flee!**

"Yes officer! Of course, he'll go to school first thing tomorrow!" Nishio, the bookstore owner, bowed politely to the officers as they left. He turned to me almost immediately after they left. "You didn't tell me you're underage and not even out of school yet."

I shrugged as I checked over the day's receipts. "You never asked."

"I'll have you work for another two weeks for this!" he snarled.

When Nishio starts to rant, I just tuned him out. After working for him for over a week, I've learned to just ignore him when he starts. To tell the truth, with all the work I've done the past week, it should be more than enough to pay for the damages and also pay for some of my living expenses. I had to sell the set of gold earrings my mother gave me in order to make ends meet. I hadn't known that 24k gold worth that much, but at least it was enough to cover the basic expenses for a while. If it wasn't for the truancy catching me at the market at ten in the morning, I think I'd still be stuck working for this guy for another month! I'm planning to search for a new job with the time at school.

"I better see you right after school or I'm adding more days to your debt!"

"Yes sir," I sighed as he finally dismissed me to go home.

Now the next problem! Since I have no previous records of going to ANY schools in this world, no sane school would take me in, so guess what school I'm stuck at? That's right, the notorious Furinkan High School. And with the uniform and tuition requirement, my budget will be in the reds for a while, but I'll be fine once I find a new job. What's worst is that my apartment and the bookstore are on the opposite side of town, so it would take quite a while to get to Furinkan by foot. On the bright side, it's less likely for my apartment to get major damaged by the Nerima Wrecking Crew.

That was what I thought, until an unexpected visitor came crashing through my window the night before my attendance at Furinkan High. Damn it, that's 2,000 yen to repair it! I quickly brushed off the scatter of glass off me. Luckily, I didn't get hurt from the broken glass, but I'm not too sure about my guest. He pretty much landed in the glass; I better make sure he doesn't die from blood lost.

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked as I gently pulled him from the ground and check for glass, but the first thing I noticed was the familiar red Chinese silks and the pigtail. It was Ranma.

Is there someone up there that hates me? It's not like paying for something he destroyed isn't bad enough, but does he have to destroy my house too? Regardless, I can't just let him continue to bleed. It's getting into the carpet! But to make the long story short, there was a bit of yelling, though not at Nerimian standards. He apologized for breaking the window and I in turn gave him basic first aid for his cuts. Even though he said they'll be gone by tomorrow, I don't doubt that.

I was not looking forward to Furinkan the following day. I had to wake up extra early, just to make it there on time. I'm going to need to get a source of transportation before the week's end if I plan on sleeping in the future. To make matters worst, I was placed in the most destructive class in the whole school! At the teacher's mention of my trip to China, I've got immediate looks from Ranma and his two fiancés. Oh well, time to suck it up and face the music.

"My name is Katsu-Katsuya Shinochi." I stuttered, I can't exactly use my girl name, but it's definitely going to take a while to get used to the new name. I sweat dropped nervously at the heart-filled eyes of a good portion of the girls. I know my guy side looks good… but it's not that good is it? Curse you dad, and your good looks!

By the start of lunch break, I've gotten at least fifteen phone numbers and three date requests. I bolted the moment the bell rung and ran like my life depended on it. Which was pretty much true, no way in hell am I getting hooked up with a chick. That is just wrong in so many ways. I snuck around the school and managed to get to the roof without anyone following me… or so I thought.

"Finally, sanctuary!" I sighed in relief as I collapsed next to the fence.

"Not quite," I jolted and pinned myself against the fence when I heard a girl's voice.

"C-can I help you?" I asked.

She smiled eerily at me, a smile that's hauntingly familiar. "Yes, you can do many things for me. Like tell me about yourself."

Ah, now I know why that smile was so familiar. It's the resident ice queen, Nabiki Tendo, trying to hit me up for answers. Possibly to sell to hormonal crazed girls at an over priced rate… I'm screwed, aren't I?

"I'm not very that interesting Miss…"

"Nabiki Tendo, that first one is for free by the way," she winked. "So do you have anything to say to your admirers?"

I grinned sheepishly. "I don't think I'm worthy of having admirers." I don't want any.

"Oh nonsense, they're all looking for you, dying to talk to you," she giggled. I'm assuming she's trying to act cute or at least alluring.

"Are you saying you're shy?" she grinned slyly. "They'll like you even more."

Like, I really need a horde of fan girls after me, this lady is nuts. "I'm really not looking for any relationships at the moment."

"Ah, so you're single," she jots the note down. Ah, damn it! "Do you practice martial arts?"

"Oh dear no! I'm not very good at sports at all!" not true, I'm decent, as long as there isn't much hand-eye coordination needed.

"You're a gentle guy," I twitched as she jotted another note down, gentle? "You're a rare jewel you know that? So, how was China?" She's quite fast, already gone through the paperwork I handed in.

"It was eventful; I lost my papers at one point and had to get a completely new set." Not a complete lie, but not completely truthful either.

Her eyes seemed to glow at that detail… Did I say something dangerous? "Really? No particular place you liked? No exotic place that stands out in your mind?" She's egging for Jusenkyo! Crap, she didn't find out already did she?

"Not that I know of… but the forbidden palace was ok," another lie.

"So do you like all that traveling? Where else would you like to go?" She's a persistent one, isn't she?

"I think I have enough travel for now, that last trip threw me a little off."

"It doesn't have to be now, it could be in the future," she quipped.

"You're a curious one aren't you?"

"Humans are curious beings by nature," she smiled almost innocently. I'd be stupid to trust it.

"Is that so, Tendo sempai?"

"Yep, oh there's about five minutes left of lunchtime. Ja, Shinochi-san," she waved casually before excusing herself.

Once she was gone, I realized another sad fate I have just endured. "I've missed my lunch!" I sobbed at the lost of my meal break.

While I knew Nabiki was going to sell whatever info she thought she got off me, I didn't know how she would reword it and market it. Hopefully, nothing too troublesome… I sighed as I dragged myself off to gym class. Doing gym on an empty stomach is going to be hell through and through. Though being bombarded by guys is much less stressing compared to being bombarded by Nabiki. Unlike Nabiki, they dissect your words and find an ulterior meaning in it.

"Shinochi! You're up!" the couch shouted. "Two free shots at the goal."

Why does it have to have to be a coordinated sport? I sighed as I got up and attempted to dribble the ball with my feet, but ended up tripping and landed heavily on my shoulder. I heard laughter, I growled. What's wrong with being clumsy!? Out of anger I got up and kicked the ball in fury. I didn't even bother with the dribbling. The goalie caught the ball, but not without taking a hard hit.

"Out!" I sighed and turned to go back to my seat, but to my surprised I walked into the fence. "Shinochi! That way!" I blushed and quickly turned around to run back to my seat. I have a very bad sense of direction. My brother called me Ryouga a few times because of it. I notice Ranma glancing at me curiously when I came back from my blunder, but other then that he was more interested in outranking everyone else in scoring.

Returning to class was more of a nightmare than anything else. The girls wouldn't leave me alone; they don't seem to know what's called personal space, very much like what duck boy did. There was a few times that I had stumbled out of my seat just to avoid their game of footsy. And I swear, I can feel a blood thirsty glare coming from the resident tomboy… And I'm not saying myself. I can't wait for class to end! Unfortunately, class ending is just as bad as being in class. I may have gotten away from the girls at lunch, but they were ready at the end of school, they barricaded the exits and boxed me into a room.

If there's someone that doesn't hate me up there, this is a good time to save me! "HENTAI! HOW DARE YOU ENSNARL EVERY GIRL WITH TWO LEGS?! YOU'RE EVEN WORST THAN RANMA!" You really hate me up there don't you?

"Tendo-san, I--!" the girls quickly parted for me to run while trying to hold Akane back at the same time. You know, there could've been a more peaceful way to save me without sending the rabid tomboy after me.

"Look! There he is!" Shit! I ran for my life when I heard the phrase being spoken. I didn't care where I ran to but eventually I randomly pulled a door open and ran in, apologizing as I entered.

"Sorry for intruding, but I needed to hide!"

By then I was out of breath, but the kind man understood and led me to the back rooms and closed the door behind me. I sat in the corner with my legs held to my chest and my head against my knees breathing heavily. Please don't go into a panic attack at a time like this! I've tried to steady my breathing with a soft whisper of numbers. I could faintly hear him redirecting the mob elsewhere. I smelled something… Something very familiar… It kind of reminds me of mom.

"Are you ok, young man?" I snapped my head up when I felt a hand at my shoulder and the voice so close. When did he get this close?

"I'm fine… A bit startled by the crazed mob of girls…" More like traumatized by them.

"You're new to town aren't you?" he asked. I nodded mutely. "Come on, let's go to my office, it's much more comfortable than the cold and hard floor." He dragged me to my feet and into his office. "It's normal to be startled for newcomers. Nerima is quite strange especially if you have no martial arts background. Have a seat; I'll get you some tea."

I waved my hands frantically. "That's ok! I'm not that thirsty! Don't trouble yourself!" I can't risk getting near hot water anyway.

"So what brings you to Nerima? Most people avoids this district because of the oddities that Nerima holds." He commented.

I laughed sheepishly. "Actually, it's more of bad luck that I'm here. I was passing by when an accident happened and I was blamed for it. It's ok though, I was looking for a job and a place to stay anyway."

He hummed in acknowledgement. "Who are you working for?"

"The Shimizu Bookstore, but I'm trying to look for a new job. Not to be offensive, but the pay isn't enough."

"Where is it? I don't recall ever seeing it," he said.

"It's pretty far out. My apartment is pretty close to the shop, so it's a bit of a pain to get to Furinkan."

"Then why go to Furinkan? Why not somewhere closer?" he asked.

"I lost my records when I was traveling and my old school was burned down a while back, all the records were lost in the fire." Good lie! Now the problem is to find my cover story for this lie. "Furinkan was the only one that would accept me without them, but with the assessment tests, I'm sure it won't be much of a problem… though, my problem is more of the girls." I sighed. "I barely outran them today and I can't run forever…"

"I'm guessing you're not a martial artist?" he asked.

I laughed out loud. "I can't even bring myself to rank myself as a novice. My grandmother is over eighty and she would thrash me with taichi. And taichi isn't even an offensive art!"

He chuckled merrily; it's a very nice laugh. "I can help you with that if you want."

"Really!?" I was excited to hear that, but my smile dropped. "But I can't pay you for lessons."

He waved it off with a smile. "I'm not teaching you any martial arts. I'm just merely teaching you the basics of chi. While you can't really fight with chi alone, it can probably help you flee most of your girl problems."

"You're seriously going to teach me?" What luck!

"Of course, what I'm going to teach you is just to protect yourself. You won't be able to use it in a fight, unless you have further training from a master, but it should be enough for your needs." No fighting? No problem! I'm not crazy enough to pick a fight with any of these nutcases anyway.

"Fighting isn't my thing anyway. It should be more than enough! When do I start— Sorry, I haven't even asked for your name yet."

"It's Ono Tofu, the resident chiropractor. And you, young man?" It's Tofu sensei! I'm going to get taught by Tofu sensei!

"Katsuya Shinochi," I reply politely.

"I'm guessing we can start your lessons tomorrow, it is getting quite dark. Isn't your family going to worry?"

I shook my head. "I live alone… Wait! Did you say dark!?" I turned to the window and gapped in horror. "Nishio is going to kill me!" I quickly grabbed my bag from the ground and rushed to the door. "Thanks Tofu sensei! I'll see you tomorrow!"

I can't believe my luck! I'm going to get training from Tofu sensei, the best person to learn from if I say so myself. And knowing my own limits, it would be suicide to even think of going at Ranma or Ryouga's caliber of fighting. I'm better off learning how to flee and self-heal. This is going to be so awesome! Now if only…

"Where on earth am I now!?" I growled with the map in my hand. To make the situation worst, a car passed by and drenched me from head to toe. I really am starting to wonder where my bad sense of direction came from!

o.o.o.o.o

Cm Aeris: My connection is horrible, so it took a while to post this up, but the next chapter should be up soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"Akane-san! Please be reasonable!" Akane can be quite violent and irrational and I haven't even known her for that long… though I supposed it's better than getting called a pervert and attempting to send me home via Mallet Express. Oh yeah, I should tell you what happened, shouldn't I?

**Chapter Two: Fiancés, Rivals and Casanova**

"Where on earth am I now!?" I growled with the map in my hand. To make the situation worst, a car passed by and drenched me from head to toe. I really am starting to wonder where my bad sense of direction came from! "I want a hot shower now…" Just then a bucket of cold water flew from this spacious house. If that car missed a spot before, it shouldn't worry; the bucket got the rest of me. "Where is all this water coming from!? Does someone hate me!?"

Immediately I sneezed, I have a very low cold tolerance. If I stay in the cold for a long period of time, I have a tendency to go into a hibernation coma. I pulled the bucket off my head and sniffled before looking around. I'm completely lost, better go ask for directions… hmm… that house the bucket came from seems good enough. Might as well return the bucket to them too while I'm at it.

"Excuse me… Would anyone happen to know the way to the Shimizu Bookshop?" I asked as I stepped in the entrance where the shoes were place.

"Oh my, a guest," a sweet voice spoke.

I turned to the speaker with a faint smile. "Sorry to barge in like this, but I'm a bit lost." I sneezed before rubbing my nose.

"Oh, you're soaked! Please come in, I'll get you a towel."

Before I knew it, I was dragged into the living room, force stripped to my boxers and wrapped in a fluffy white towel with a cup of tea, warm enough to warm the body, but not hot enough to trigger the curse. Hmm… Does she have a sixth sense for people with bad luck? No matter, I kept a firm grip on the towel, even if I'm in no danger of turning back to a girl at the moment. I can't be sure with the luck of Jusenkyo cursed beings; especially, when I'm wearing nothing more than my boxers.

"Kasumi 'nee-chan, when is…" I froze at the voice. "Oh? What a surprise, Shi-no-chi-kun?" her sly voice sent chills down my spine

I shivered at that voice and turned around… but I can't remember who this person is… is she one of the rabid fan girls? I stared at her blankly. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" I have a really hard time putting faces and names together when it comes to real people. Anime characters seem so much easier to tell apart.

She seemed startled by my lack of recognition. I'm not surprised, since it took me about three months to learn my best friend's name. "We met earlier during lunch today, Shinochi." She said dryly.

At lunch? Who can that… oh no… "T-Tendo sempai!" I stuttered. Then that means I'm in the Tendo residence. And that kind lady before was Kasumi! Well… I guess I can say Kasumi is very pretty in person. They all look different compared to the anime, not two dimensional with pastel colors.

"And here I thought you're the shy type," she drawled in amusement while leaning on the door.

"Sempai, it's not what it looks like! I was just asking for directions to the Shimizu Bookshop," I flailed my arm; the other is kept firmly at the towel holding it tightly around my neck and covering my front.

"I see, and you had to take off your clothes, why?" she grinned. "Are you trying to seduce someone, Shinochi-kun?"

"No! My clothes were just wet from an accident. The kind lady here had me change out of it when she saw it. I really was going to leave after getting directions."

"Oh my," Thank you Kasumi! For your impeccable timing! "I didn't know you are friends with Nabiki…" she laughed melodically. "Oh how rude of me! We haven't done our introductions. I'm Kasumi Tendo, nice to make your acquaintance." She bowed politely. "I brought you some spare clothing to wear until yours dried."

I quickly bowed back and accepted the clothing. "Thank you Tendo-san, my name is Katsuya Shinochi, but just call me Katsu. Sorry to trouble you and your family, I really don't mind the wet clothing."

"Oh no, you would've gotten sick if you didn't change out of it." I won't argue there. I have a very weak immune system; I could get sick over the littlest things. A bit of a surprise though, since dad has an iron immune system that knocks out most germs.

"Drenched? As in with cold water?" Ah, the queen is at it once again.

"Yes… Is there a problem?" I asked with a puzzled tone.

"It's nothing," she smiled again, I really don't trust that smile.

"Ranma! Stop picking on P-chan!" Uh-oh, Akane's back! And I'm not even decent!

"I'm not picking on him, you pig-headed tomboy!"

"WHAT!?" I winced at the sound of a smash.

"I think I should get dressed," I murmured and quickly pulled on the clothing. I twitched a bit when I realized they were girl clothes, a frilly white dress shirt and a form fitting pair of pants. Oh well, my guy form is about the same size as my girl form, with the exception of height.

"I'm sorry, but the only clothing that is clean was mine, I hope you don't mind." How can I? It's Kasumi!

I quickly buttoned the last of the buttons before Akane walked in with a black piglet in her arms. I'm guessing that's Ryouga, but… "IT'S SO CUTE!" I gushed as I plucked P-chan out of Akane's arms and proceeded to play with him. "Is he your pet? He's so adorable!" before Akane can answer, the stupid thing bit me! "Ow!" I held him away at arm's length by the bandanna.

"Give me back P-chan you pervert!" she snapped furiously.

I quickly shoved the pig back into her arms, not wanting her mallet-sama mauling me. "Sorry! But he was just so cute! I couldn't resist. You have good taste in pets."

Her face lit up brightly, YES two points to Katsu! There was a snort behind her. "Good taste? The tomboy doesn't even have taste buds!"

I winced as Ranma got plowed to the ground by the mallet yet again. "What do you know?" she snarled at him.

Feeling sorry for Ranma, I decided to help him a bit… I'm not getting at Ryouga for biting me! I'm not the petty… YOU HAVE NO PROOF I AM GETTING BACK AT HIM… I'm innocent! INNOCENT! "I'm sorry to interrupt, but did you get him all his shots yet?"

Akane frowned. "What do you mean?"

I raised my hands defensively. "I don't mean anything bad! I'm sure you probably got all the shots for him already. After all, it's not just for the protection of people; it's also protection for him as well. Seeing he's so small, I bet a lot of big animals try to attack or even eat him. You won't know if they have rabies or whatever diseases."

She gasped covering her mouth in horror. "I never knew!"

Ranma grinned at the horrified squee from the piglet Ryouga. "Maybe you should take P-chan to a vet immediately Akane, you never know if he might already be sick." The pig glared at him even more.

"You really think so?" she asked Ranma worriedly.

"I think you should go immediately, there should be some veterinarian clinics still open." I quipped.

"I guess I should, huh?" Akane murmured, holding the lost pig even closer to her bosom. "Nabiki 'nee-chan, do you—"

Nabiki sighed and sent me a sharp look before strolling out of the room and ushering Akane to follow her. "I have the directions in my room." Ryouga went squeeing the whole way as they left.

Once the frightening duo was gone I gave a sigh of relief, but Ranma was laughing his head off, enjoying the whole scene. "You can't believe how long I wanted to do that!"

I smiled faintly at his amusement. "I'm glad you enjoyed it…" I glanced at the clock before turning to Kasumi. "I really have to go Tendo-san. Thank you for the change of clothes, but I'll have to return it to you tomorrow."

"Won't you stay for dinner?" she asked.

I bowed politely. "I really must go. I'm sure Nishio is furious about my lateness. I'll return tomorrow with your clothing tomorrow…" I blushed in embarrassment. "Would it be too much trouble to ask for the directions to Shimizu Bookshop?"

"Hey, isn't that near where you live?" Oh yeah, I almost forgot that Ranma knows where I live… he did crash through my window.

"I'm sure Ranma can take you there, right Ranma?" Kasumi's disarming smile makes it impossible for anyone to refuse. Ranma agreed almost immediately and led me towards the shop. He seemed amused whenever I happened to turn at the wrong street and turned me back to the right direction. Eventually, we made it back with little problem… but Nishio wasn't happy when he saw me.

"Where have you been!? It's already six!" he roared and ranted for ten minutes straight.

I waited out the rant before I started. "I had some troubles with school and the teachers needed me to stay for some extra help." A lie, but a useful one. "Apparently, I didn't do too well on the assessment exam and they want me to go for extra help after school for four days a week." I'll be using that time to train under Tofu sensei and get whatever necessities.

"Four days?!" he roared. "What about my business!?"

"I can't help it! I'm required to get at least a B average or I can't take any jobs!" I argued.

He grumbled under his breath. "Fine, but I want you to be working at your hardest during the weekends!"

"Oh course, Nishio-san." I said brightly with a fake smile. I'm going to be stuck working for this guy for probably the whole year, but that'll have to do, if I'm to survive this nutty world...

Unfortunately, I hadn't thought about my immediate wellbeing when I decided to tell that lie. Since I don't have much work, it means I don't get much pay either. After fixing the wall, I was relying on the job to pay for rent… and with Ranma destroying my window last night; I'm not going to have enough for food for a while! No lunch and now no food!?

"ARGH! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT RANMA!" I roared and promptly get smacked in the face by a piece of paper. Why is my life so miserable? I peeled the page out of my face before skimming over the contents. "You love die? Forever us to?" my eye twitched. "Is that supposed to be a translation?"

"That's mine!" I glanced up from the paper and found a man running towards me.

I raised an eyebrow as he snatched the paper out of my hands and tried to sort it back into a pile of mess in his arms, but he ended up dropping everything again. He let out an anguished scream when the wind started kicking up. I sighed and proceeded to catch the flying pieces and gathered them into a neat pile. However, I couldn't help myself and glance over the contents of the mess.

I sweat dropped. "Excuse me; you do know the translation to this piece is incorrect right? None of these words makes sense at all. This one is supposed to be translated to, 'My love burns evermore for you.' Not 'Burning love blast' whoever translated this should be fired on the spot."

The guy seemed to pause in his frantic gathering of the pieces and shifted his glasses calculatingly. "You can read English, young man?" Within a second, he was speaking to me nose to nose. Is there something about these Nerimians that they don't get the concept of personal space?

I took a step back slightly irritated from the sudden intrusion, but answered anyway. "I can, is there something wrong with that?"

He pressed his face closer to mines once again before catching me by my hands. "My hero, my savior!!!!! Where have you been all my life!?" I have no clue what happened when he drew me into a back breaking hug.

"W-what!?" I gasped and struggled to breathe, he was crushing my lungs. I gritted my teeth and raised my arm high before jabbing down with my elbow to his head to dislodge him. I coughed and gasped for breath when he finally broke away. "What's the big idea!? You have a fetish for young men, you pedophile!"

He recovered quickly from my flimsy attack and adjusted his glasses once again. "Oh! I'm dreadfully sorry for the misunderstanding young man!" He pulls out a business card and quickly shoves it into my hands. "My name is Kazuma Yamamoto! I'm the largest supplier of foreign films in Japan. Sorry for my outburst earlier. I've just fired my latest translator and… well, you've already seen what he did. I'm in great need of another translator. I was just so ecstatic when I heard you translate the script so beautifully, I couldn't help myself."

"You hugged me because I understand English text?" I sweat dropped.

He grabbed onto my hands excitedly once again. "You must come work for my company! I'm willing to pay you handsomely per translated script. It wouldn't even matter if you're still in school. Since you don't have to come into office! What do you say?"

I blinked. "Pardon?" I asked looking up from his business card skeptically. "Are you offering me a job?"

He nodded and stood proudly with his arms crossed, I swear, his glasses gleamed. "Of course I am! You didn't even need to bother with the dictionary when you just translated that piece on the spot! You can probably finish a whole translation within days compared to the weeks my last one needed! Please! I beg of you! Work for my company!" He dropped to his knees and begged.

I backed away again when he latched onto my leg like a leech. I glanced about and saw the awkward looks from the by passers. This is so troublesome! Even the Nerimians finds this weird! "Yamamoto-san, please get off of me, you're causing up a scene!"

"Come on please! Work for me!"

"Oh FINE! FINE! I'll work for you! No would you please just get off of me!" I roared, finally managing to tear him from my leg and shoving him off.

He scrambled to his feet and adjusted his glasses again. "Very good! Um… What's your name again?"

I sighed with a frown. "I never introduced myself… Thought I really question why you would hire someone you don't even know the name to… It's Katsuya Shinochi."

"Katsuya Shinochi… A wonderful name Katsuya-kun!" he declared before snapping his briefcase open and shuffled around the various folders and papers before shoving one into my arms. "This is the script I want you to translate! Once you're done, call me! My number is on the card! I'll be certain you'll be handsomely paid!" He rummaged through his pockets before scribbling on a check and shoving it into my hands. "This is the down payment! Hopefully, I'll hear you in a few days! I must be at another meeting! FAREWELL!"

"What?" I said in puzzlement as I watch him disappear in great vigor. "Nerimians are weird." I said flatly before glancing at the things he shoved into my arms. The folder wasn't too thick, so I'm not too worried about finishing it in a few days… but… "OH MY GOODNESS!" I screeched.

Yamamoto had left me with at least 5,000 yen at my disposal… I was right; Nerimians are weird and unstable beyond belief. Since it's the 1970's the price for most things are still remotely cheap in comparison with my era. At least, I think lady luck is starting to shine on me… I hope… making assumptions in this place is just too dangerous. You never know what would happen when you wish for something. Oh well, at least I can afford to repair the windows and get back my pawned earrings.

Talking about my window… "RANMA!!!!!!!" I screamed in a mix of anger and surprise when I returned home and found the new hole in my temporary patched up window and Ranma imbedded on the wall.

"Ah… Sorry?" he laughed sheepishly.

I sighed. "I don't even want to know," I muttered before stepping in and closing the door. "Have you eaten yet?" He perked up at the mention of food. "Clean up that mess you made and patch up the window. I'll make you a share." I don't want to clean another one of his mess.

"Great! I'm starving! Akane mallet me here during dinner," he said before peeling himself from the wall and started cleaning up the rubble and mess… I sighed, that's another thousand yen for wall repairs… I wonder if Nerima have developed any Ranma proof materials yet? "So when's dinner?"

I nearly jumped when Ranma loomed over my shoulder to glance at the stir-fry I was making. "You're done already?" I glanced back and found everything cleaned up and neatly patched up.

"Nabiki makes me repair the dojo all the time, it's no big deal." He shrugged before glancing around. "Pretty small place, you live alone?"

"What do you think?" I responded dryly before tossing the stir-fry and shuffled the food onto two plates and scooped two servings of rice on the plates. Knowing Ranma, he can easily clean it in seconds. "Sorry, I don't have much furniture; you're going to have to sit on the floor."

"No problem! Time to eat!" he declared before hurriedly wolfed down the food.

"It would be nice if you tasted what I made instead of just inhaling it." I grumbled before sitting across from him and lazily shoveled the food into my mouth. I raised a chopstick to slap his hand out of irritation, but I blinked in surprise when I found my plate empty. My brow twitched in irritation. "Stupid orchid pony!" I muttered under my breath.

"Thanks for the food!" he declared, not hearing my comment. He glances back to the mess he made from crashing in. "Uh… you really don't mind that I…"

I raised an eyebrow. Is that a sense of guilt I sense from him? "Is there a problem?"

He made a face. "Nothing, just only most people would be screaming their head off and demanding a bunch of things. They won't even give me a chance to talk."

I shrugged picking up his plate. "Demanding stuff is just too much of a hassle. By the way, shouldn't you get back? It's almost ten."

"WHAT!?" his eyes widen before jolting up.

"Use the door," I warned while walking towards the sink.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled in embarrassment before hurrying off the normal way. "See you tomorrow Katsuya!" the door slammed behind him.

I glanced at the door for a moment before shaking my head with a grin. "Trusting idiot," I sighed and slipped the plates into the sink before realizing something. "DAMN IT! HE ATE MY DINNER! RANMA!!!!" … I had instant ramen for dinner that night.

Thanks to Ranma's visit, I wasn't able to sleep until three in the morning. I was busy reading over the script the first time. Image my face when I finally noticed it was _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_. Produced in 1971, just a year before I arrived… How odd, I was expecting a sappy and crappy romance film to translate and what do I get? A messed up children's story… oh well; I guess I'll have fun translating the song… _Oompa loompa doba dida_… Isn't nonsense just wonderful?

"OH CRAP!" I screamed and stumbled out of bed in a hurry to get dressed and nearly tripped out of the apartment, but quickly crawled back in to grab my bag and the movie scripts before I stumbled out again.

By the time I arrived at the gate, the bell was starting to ring. I caught a glimpse of Nabiki dragging Kuno's wasted body into the building and towards the infirmary. No, no, no! I can't be late on my second day! No bucket duty for Katsu! Please no! I rushed through the shoe lockers and quickly slipped on my white shoes before dashing through the halls and nearly slipping and crashing into walls a few times… scratched that, I crashed into the door when I turned around the corner and tried to open the door, the western way… This doesn't work since these were sliding doors…

"How nice of you to join us Shinochi-kun," the sensei drawled. "Bucket duty." Aw… I didn't make it…

"Yes sensei," I responded dejectedly before putting down my things and grabbing the buckets from the front to the sinks.

"You too?" I glanced up when I walked back to the classroom with the buckets in hand.

"Good morning Saotome-san," I said dryly. He's probably out here for sleeping in class again.

"You can call me Ranma you know. I don't have to crash through your window for you to call me that."

I blinked in surprise. "I hadn't noticed." So tired… I probably fell asleep standing without realizing. It's a habit I picked up from dad's punishments as a kid; standing in a box for an hour is quite boring and stepping out of it, means a longer punishment. When I woke up, I was no longer standing in the halls, but in the infirmary with a pounding headache… what happened?

"Ah, you finally woke up," I glanced over to the nurse.

"Ugh… my head is killing me."

"I'm not surprised; you did get mauled by Akane Tendo's mallet. Why didn't you dodge though?" she asked. I groaned and draped my arm over my eyes; I wasn't awake in the first place! "Never mind. You might as well stay here until lunch start. Class is over in a few minutes."

I froze. "In… a few… minutes?" I quickly sat up, ignoring the pulsing headache. "I think I'll go to lunch early."

"But, you shouldn't be up at all!" she argued and tried to shove me back in bed.

"I'm fine! I get into accidents all the time!" This is not a complete lie… but I'm usually not hit in the head in my accidents… Ow, my poor soft head! Besides, I don't need that horde of fan girls gushing over me while I'm not well enough to run away from them.

By the time lunch came around, I was safely hidden in the greenery near the pool. While I may be safe, that has nothing to do with being at peace. Just as I planned on sleeping off my dizziness, a familiar argument broke my hopes of a peaceful afternoon nap. They weren't this annoying when I was watching the series.

"Ranma-sama! I made you cookies!"

"Ran-chan, it's your favorite!"

"No! Airen will eat Shampoo's, yes?"

"Ranma!"

He was backing away from their advance, trying his best to pacify all four of them, but they don't seem interested in doing so. I can't help but grin at the whole occurrence… Who are you calling a sadist!? I'm not enjoying his misery… much… well, maybe a little. Oh fine! I'll help him! He'll probably get drugged three ways to December if I don't help him. Ugh, my head still hurts. I shook off the dizzy spell before strolling out of my hiding place.

"Four beautiful visions before me, but why the arguing? Surely, there's a peaceful way to settle the matter." Bleh, such flowery words, it's sickening.

"Shinochi-kun," Akane was the first to turn from Ranma. "Shouldn't you be in the infirmary?" she actually seemed sorry to have sent me there… Maybe there's hope for her.

I smiled warmly. "I'm quite fine, just a little dizzy." I glanced over to Ranma to catch his eye. He better appreciate the help I'm giving him.

"You sure? Akane hit you pretty hard," Ukyo was the next to turn.

The Chinese Amazon giggled before glancing over to Akane. "Shampoo surprised stupid boy is still walking."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Akane snapped.

"Hmph obviously means you're a violent peasant with no taste," scoffed Kodachi. The last was no longer on Ranma's person.

"Now, now," I raised my hands in a sign to pacify them, however my true intentions was to alert Ranma to run. "No need to start a fight on my account." It took Ranma a moment to realize I was helping him. He grinned before quickly darting off. I waited for him to completely disappear before I interrupted the arguing. "Now, what were you ladies fighting about?"

"We were… HEY! Where did Ran-chan go?"

"Aiya! Airen ran off when we were talking!"

Ukyo turned angrily at me. "Look what you did!" She quickly packed up the lunch and darted off. "Ran-chan! Honey, wait for me!"

"No! Airen is going to eat Shampoo's cookies, Spatula girl!"

"Argh! Ranma is off with those hussies again!" Akane tossed her creation aside and pulled out her signature mallet and hurried after the three.

Well, I did my part. If Ranma still can't get away, it's his fault and not mines. I whistled cheerfully as I turned to find a spot to take the rest of my afternoon nap. Unfortunately, I was confronted with something much more terrifying, something that will put me in mortal peril. Kodachi Kuno had not hurried after Ranma as I expected, instead she was in front of me with the eeriest smile I've ever seen in my life. I'm really screwed now.

She had her arms looped around my neck before I could say anything. "What's your name my charming prince?" A prince? She thinks I'm her fucking prince!? I'm a peasant damn it! And damn proud of it!

"Miss, I'm sure you're mistaken. I'm no where near a prince." I said while trying to dislodge her arms. "Besides, don't you love Ranma? Surely, a noble lady such as yourself would not commit the crimes of being disloyal to your sworn love." Man, when did my words get so flowery? I think I'm going to hurl. Preferable in her face, so I can run away.

She froze and glanced away in fake modesty. "Oh, you're right. This is no way for a lady of my caliber to act."

I bit back a sigh of relief. "Then you know our union cannot happen between us. It is truly a pity." I slowly slipped away from her, not wanting her to suddenly latch onto me again.

Unfortunately, lady luck really hates me. "Worry not dark prince! We can still continue our forbidden love." She said almost dreamily. What!? "Our love would only have to be in secret and hidden from society's watchful eyes." She laughed merrily before moving to pull out her signature weapon.

Oh fuck this, she's telling me to be her male-mistress… Is there even a damn word for that? Maltress? Ah fuck it! I'm running! I quickly turned my heel and ran as quickly as my non-martial artist legs can take me… and that's not really far. But like hell I'm going to let her catch me and turn me into whatever slave she's planning! Just as I turned around the corner of the school a ribbon latched onto my leg, but a hand gripped at my wrist tightly, yanking me out of the ribbon's grip. I winced at the rope burn from the ribbon, but was very grateful that I'm not going to be Kodachi's slave.

I stumbled forward as my savior dragged me off. I hadn't had a chance to look up since I was busy not tripping over my own legs and pulling my savior down with me. I shuddered at Kodachi's deranged laughter. Without looking back, I can see her skipping at unimaginable heights and chasing after us. I gasped for air as I was dragged into the school and tossed into the janitor's closet. I didn't even have a chance to look up when the door slammed shut. Outside a splash and clatter of the metal bucket echoed.

"You red-haired harlot! What have you done with my dark prince!?"

Red hair? Ranma? I can't think straight, the world was still spinning around me. I sat up against a wall with my hand to my head, just waiting for the noise to stop on the other side. I wasn't sure how long it was, but when the door creaked opened I didn't want to look up. I flinched when a slender hand touched my shoulder.

"Hey, you ok?" a girl with a boyish tone asked.

I glanced up tiredly, but smiled weakly when I saw the red hair. "I'm fine, thanks for the help Ranma."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "How did you know I'm Ranma?"

Argh, of all the times he chooses to be observant… I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "You crashed into my house twice wearing that same shirt. You're the only person in this school that doesn't wear any sort of uniforms in favor of that shirt." Thumbs up for me! Nice save!

"That makes sense I guess… Hey, you sure you're ok?" she asked again. I was starting to have trouble breathing. "Hey! Katsuya! Oi!" her voice faded away as I blacked out.

o.o.o.o.o

When I woke again, I was on a bed, but not in the infirmary. "Ah, finally awake Katsuya-kun."

I sat up groggily rubbing my eyes. "Tofu sensei?"

"Woah, hold it there!" he said and gently pushed me back into bed. "You exhausted yourself enough today and with the concussion, you're not going anywhere until I say you're ready. You were probably running on adrenaline since your concussion."

"Ugh, lousy waste of a body!" I grumbled to myself draping an arm over my eyes.

"Those lessons would be handy now, don't you agree?" Tofu sensei grinned.

"Rub it in sensei," I murmured tiredly.

He chuckled amusingly. "Tofu sensei!" A girl's voice came from the entrance.

I groaned and tried to crawl away. "Don't let them near me! They'll kill me! I swear!"

"Behave Katsuya," he chuckled again before moving to the door. "I'll see who it is. You stay where you are."

"I'm going to run if it's them!" I shouted after him, but stayed in bed nevertheless. Too tired to move. It didn't take long for him to come back with the guests though.

"Oi, Katsuya. How are you feeling?" I cracked my eyes open to see Ranma and Akane hovering over my bedside. I wasn't expecting them at all.

"I'm so sorry!" Akane bowed a few times. I blinked, she's apologizing? To a guy? Wow… what did I do? "I didn't know that I would send you here with that hit."

Ranma grinned. "That's Akane for you, the violent tomboy." He was promptly elbowed in the side for the comment by the resident tomboy.

"I'm sure Tendo-san isn't as bad as you say. She's very pretty," I commented. Akane blushed at my comment while Ranma gapped at me in disbelief. Personally, I don't think Akane is that bad, just very spoiled and insecure about herself.

"You don't have to call me Tendo, just Akane." She said sheepishly.

"Then you're free to call me Katsuya or Katsu… at least Ranma already invited himself to." I commented. Ranma laughed and scratched the side of his cheek.

"I know! I'll make you lunch tomorrow! You'll accept it right?" she asked.

"Akane I don't think—" Ranma was elbowed again to silence. I'm not sure how to respond to that… no doubt she'll get pissed if I refused, but I would die if I eat her cooking.

"Why don't you wait until Katsuya-kun gets better before you decide to make lunch for him?' Thank you Tofu sensei! "He'll be able to enjoy it better when he's at a hundred percent."

"I guess," she said dejectedly.

"How about I make the three of us lunch when I get better? For troubling the two of you to drag me here." I tried smiling warmly to hide the clenching fear at my heart... or my stomach. I know I won't be able to handle it. Heck, my stomach can barely handle my own cooking... and it's actually eatable from what I heard.

"You three can discuss this tomorrow when Katsuya-kun returns to school. He needs his rest and you two need to get back to class." Tofu sensei interrupted.

"I'll see you tomorrow in class then Katsu-kun." She said before turning to leave. Ranma grinned and flashed thumbs up as if to tell me I made a good choice to not accept her lunch offer.

Once the two was gone, Tofu sensei came back with a plate of food. "Well, you must be hungry. Ranma said you were late to school. I'm guessing you haven't had breakfast."

I stretched tiredly and felt my joints crack, sweet relief. I'll be feeling the pain when I'm in my forties but who cares? Instant gratification rocks! "What time is it?"

"School isn't over yet, but it's probably better if you didn't go back now." I shrugged; I didn't want to go to that nut job of a school in the first place. Grades wouldn't matter much here anyway. "Do you have these panic attacks often?"

I picked at the food. "A bit more frequent every since high school start…" I shoveled some of the food into the mouth and quite devoured it. My stomach is going to protest later, but I'm hungry.

"I see… Well, once you're done with lunch, we'll start with our lessons," he chirped.

I nearly choked on the food. "That fast? I thought I was to rest."

He smiled brightly. "These lessons would help you improve on your health. Once you learn them, it's more helpful than the little sleep you'll get right now."

I sighed and lowered my bowl. "Might as well start, I'm not that hungry anymore." More like I don't trust my stomach to behave while doing this.

I'm not going to bore you with the training exercises, but… it didn't work. Even without martial arts training, those exercises were supposed to grasp onto the slightest wisp of chi and bring it to the surface. Tofu sensei proceeded to check my chi points and whoop de do, guess what he found.

"This is worrying," he murmured before retracting his hands from my abdomen.

"What is?" I asked while I buttoned up my shirt. It was a bit odd to go topless as a guy, even if it was a check up.

He sighed and adjusted his glasses. "The average person has 128 chi points with the minimum of 98 points open and active to regulate normal human functions."

I leaned forward with my arms resting on my knees. "Your point, sensei?"

"You have only 64 points active… That's barely enough to keep you alive. It's no wonder your health is in such horrid conditions. Before we formally start your training we're going to have to reopen your chi points. It would be too dangerous for you without the extra chi points."

"Dangerous as in?"

"You can die," he responded bluntly. "I'm really surprised you can still move around that casually. In normal cases, you should be a vegetable, but your chi points are stressing themselves for your body to barely function. It's going to take some time to reopen your points. I'm not sure for what reason your chi points were closed, but depending on how it's closed, there might be stored chi."

"What difference is there if there is store chi?" What is the difference really?

"If there is no stored chi, your points would just start producing chi normally and slowly reincorporate itself into your system… but if there is stored chi, it would be hazardous to reopen every point at once. Your body can go into shock with the large amount of chi rushing through. It might paralyze you if that's the case."

"P-paralyze!?" Man, is my body fucked up or what? "So… how long would it take?"

Tofu sensei hummed. "If your points don't have stored chi it would take about a week. If it does, about twenty-one days."

I blinked rapidly. "Twenty-one days? That's…"

"Too long?"

"Actually, it's faster than I expected…"

He smiled. "Shall we get started?"

No, don't tell me this is just too ridiculously easy, there's a catch. What Tofu sensei hadn't told me was the excruciating amount of pain involved in unlocking chi points. It feels like a hot knife stabbing into the point and twisting it a few times. That's only before the chi started coursing through the body. The pain was indescribable; I faintly remember Tofu sensei pinning me down to prevent me from thrashing wildly and hurting myself… and I'm going to have to go through this for twenty-one days… I'm going to die before this is over.

I wasn't sure when it was over, but I was certain I was unconscious by that time. I didn't go home that night since Tofu sensei was worried over my condition, but that meant I didn't get to take a hot shower either. To say I was cranky the next morning going to school… was a dead understatement.

"Katsuya-kun! Good morning!" I briskly walked past fan girl, number… ah who cares! They're not worth my time! Lousy people trying to talk to me before I get to school, who do they think I am!? Mr. Talkative!?

"Nice day right, Katsuya-kun?" I walked pass yet another with a scowl over my face. I was nearly at school with a dark cloud over my head.

"Good morning Katsu—"

I turned to the speaker with a dark glare. "Do I look like I'm having a good morning? Girls like you make me sick. Annoying, pesky, with squeals that gives me a fucking migraine that last for hours. Why don't you do the world a favor, grow and brain and get a healthy hobby, hm?"

"Katsuya-kun no baka!" she screamed in my face and ran into the school crying. By now you should be able to tell, I'm not a morning person… or even a person in the morning. Though… there is one other weird quirk about my person.

"Good morning, Himura-san. I'm dreadfully sorry for making you cry earlier." I smiled warmly as I walked past her in the hallway. She stood there baffled by my switch of personality, while the girls whispered rapidly with one another.

While I'm barely a person in the morning, it changes once I get to my destination… Not sure why that happens, but most of my friends made sure to stay clear of me until I get into the school building or wherever I'm going. Well, there's nothing else interesting in school… at least until I heard about the Romeo and Juliet play. Apparently, the drama club approached Akane yesterday while I was out. The school became somewhat of a battle ground to become Romeo.

Normally, I wouldn't care about it, but when I can't even get to the cafeteria for food without getting caught up in their stupid fight, that's where I draw my line. They're going to regret messing with my feeding times. Instead of feasting on the crappy school food, I found myself sitting in front of the president of the drama club.

"Katsuya Shinochi-kun… am I correct?" he asked and adjusted his glasses.

"Yes, I'm here to—"

"Congratulations, you got the role as Romeo."

"Wait, WHAT!?"

"Well, Kuno and Ranma were both getting out of hand with the Romeo casting, so what the drama club did was pull up a popular vote." Votes!? It's only been one day since they asked Akane! "It's actually Nabiki Tendo's idea. It's very rare to have her give free advice." Ah, the resident ice-bitch. Should've known… Let's see if the Kuroda genetics is useful. I'm really not looking forward to get killed by the resident idiots because of this Romeo role.

"Takeshi-san," I started with a disarming smile. He flinched, probably surprised by my casual approach. "I'm curious, is it normal for Tendo sempai to give off free advice? From what I heard from my fellow classmates, Tendo sempai usually does things in her own benefit… usually at the expense of others… no?"

He frowned and pondered on the thought. "That is true…"

"I don't think having me as Romeo would stop the two from causing chaos during the play. They seemed quite intent on getting the part," promptly a crash and series of insults was thrown in the hallway.

Takeshi groaned and buried his head in his arms and proceeded to cry rivers that rival Soun. "But without a Romeo, the drama club is ruined! I only asked Akane-san because we needed the popularity she'll bring! Not this chaos!" I mentally snorted. What did he expect, asking RANMA'S fiancée?

But instead, I kept my smile. "Well… You don't really need Akane-san for the play to catch people's attention."

He glanced up blinking away his river of tears. "I don't?"

"You don't need follow modern ideals and get the most pretty and popular girl to play as the damsel or heroine." I continued with a casual wave of a hand. "Why don't you take up some of the old style of the art?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I grinned almost maliciously. "In olden times, women were not allowed in plays. All parts are played by men. I'm sure if you restarted this practice, it would definitely draw some attention."

"But how am I going to get them to do it? They're all proud and probably homophobic! They'll refuse! And the club would still be ruined." He sobbed pathetically.

"Oh don't worry," I smiled dangerously, he backed into his chair with a squeak. "Make it a challenge to the martial artists in the school. Juliet's role being the highest and most difficult one to obtain. Of course, it would be the most difficult role to play as most of them have no prior training to act even remotely similar to a lady. If anyone bothers to research on the matter."

I can see his eyes glance down and his lips move as he muttered to himself. He's actually considering it! YES! "This… is a very interesting proposition… But are you sure you don't want—"

"Why don't you have a sign up sheet? And I'll join the competition?" Like hell I am! I'm going to write Ranma and Kuno's name on it the first chance I get to! "It wouldn't be fair if I just won without a fight." REVENGE! NO ONE GETS BETWEEN ME AND FOOD! … Even if I can't stomach it more than half the time.

"Hmm… It sounds fine and all… but are you certain…"

I nodded, "I'm certain Ranma and various other martial artists would take interest in this battle."

His face lit up. "Oh right! Ranma has that curse thing that turns him into a girl! He would be perfect for Juliet's part! But… I question his acting abilities."

"Oh don't worry! If anything I'll help tutor him in the whole thing! I insist! The drama club will shine." What are you looking at? I'm not pulling out revenge on Ranma.

o.o.o.o.o

"ALL MALE CAST!?" Ranma and Kuno gapped at the sign-up sheet that was posted shortly after my meeting with Takeshi. Furinkan clubs are surprisingly quick with their production of fliers and various other commercial goods.

"But I thought I was playing Juliet!" complained Akane, she looked completely torn… I almost felt bad doing this.

"This is unacceptable! All male cast!? This is blasphemy!" roared Kuno. I kept my face neutral while I watched Kuno's nonsense, but I noticed Ranma frowning quietly before slipping away from the crowd. That's not like him… Where is he going? Carefully, I followed, hoping he can't sense me… he probably can, but who cares? I'm curious!

He was at Takeshi's room. I blinked in surprise; he's going to try to convince Takeshi to give Akane back the Juliet role. Of course, Ranma dealt with the situation with his usual pigheadedness. I wasn't surprised that he got rejected by Takeshi with a soft shake of a head. I didn't stay long after that for Ranma to come out and catch me, so I rushed back to the sign up sheet. Even if I feel bad, it doesn't mean I'm letting them off the hook. I pulled out my trusty silver pen and quickly wrote the two names on Romeo and Juliet.

Behind me, I could hear the girls squealing in delight… Probably thinking that I'm participating in the auditions. I bit back a laugh with a bright smile before turning to leave with a happy hum. What I hadn't notice at the time, was a certain queen with a pen of her own. Ah… well, I'll deal with it when the time comes… I have something more important to deal with.

"Katsuya Shinochi!" I flinched and turned around when I heard Akane's angry voice.

"Akane-san?" I questioned with a light tone, but was promptly smacked and sent to the ground. Yeowch! This girl hits hard! I raised a hand to rub the stop she smacked. "Akane-san, what was that—"

Aw man, she's crying! I can't do anything to crying girls. "I wanted to be Juliet! I really wanted to be Juliet! And—and you took that chance away from me!" She rubbed the tears out of her eyes angrily.

"Akane-san, please be reasonable!" I said as I got back on my feet.

"Takeshi-kun told me you were the one that suggested it to him! I hate you Katsuya! I hate you!" She kicked dust into my face before running off.

I quickly covered my face to shield myself from the dust before I started to cough up a lung. I was getting light headed again. I staggered slightly before shaking off the dizzy spell. I actually want to go home today. I glanced around and noticed a good number of people staring at me. I sighed dejectedly and proceeded to stalk home. I really need a hot shower and a good meal. Of course, what do you think happens when I open the door? That's right, Ranma crashing through my patched up window, AGAIN!

"Patch it up and I'll make dinner," I sighed tiredly. "It's probably better if you leave Akane-san alone until she cools off."

He didn't move from his crash site. "Why did you do that Katsuya? Akane really wanted to play Juliet."

I sighed again. "Ranma, did you even notice what was going on because she's playing Juliet?" He craned his neck to look at me. "You and Kuno were causing chaos left and right fighting for Romeo's role. And I do not doubt, regardless who got that role, the other would sabotage the play to stop that kiss."

"But I'm not—"

"I don't care if you want that kiss or not, but that is definitely what the two of you were fighting for. Besides it's unfair to the drama club because of the childish little game. You have to start thinking about your surroundings Ranma. The world does not just consist of martial artists; there are plenty of non-martial artists that want to carry out an eventful and peaceful life."

"But…"

"Why don't you think over what I said before you say anything? I'll get started on dinner." I murmured. I never did get the chance to make dinner though; I fell asleep on my way to the kitchen. When I woke up the next morning, I was tucked into bed with a sloppy note next to my dresser. I'm not sure what's written on it, but I'm guessing its Ranma's attempt to apologize. Hmm… Maybe I'll make him lunch today.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Finally done! xD So chaotic!

Koganei: Well, nothing much left save for FRI!


	3. Chapter 3

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"A-Achoo!" I sniffled, but without any warning a warm body pressed up against me from behind and two arms wrapped around my front. I froze in horror of the intimate contact.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I twitched at the familiar voice. I said this once before and I'll say it again. Someone up there really hates me.

**Chapter Three: My Dumpling, Killer, Romeo**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M AUDITIONING FOR JULIET?!" Ranma roared in horror. I sat in my seat hiding my amused grin behind my textbook.

"But your name is on the list! Look!"

"I never signed up!" he complained.

"Hmph, only perverts like you would purposely do this!" Akane snorted with her arms crossed.

"But—Akane!" Ranma protested.

I bit the insides of my cheek to prevent myself from cracking up laughing. This whole situation is just too hilarious. "Katsuya-kun, I have you signed up for Juliet and Romeo."

I glanced up, startled by the comment. "Pardon?"

He glanced at his list again. "I have Katsuya Shinochi signed up for Romeo and Juliet. You are Katsuya Shinochi right?"

"Katsuya-kun is auditioning as Romeo!" one of the girls squealed.

"But for Juliet as well?" another girl murmured.

"Katsuya-kun probably did it as a joke. Just so Ranma won't feel bad!"

"Aw! He's so sweet." I really envy the logic of these fan girls. They would never fault the person they admire… Hmm… Maybe I should audition just for the heck of it… No.

"Ha! Someone set us up!" Ranma argued and jumped next to me. "We're not going to do it! You can't prove it's us! Right Katsu?"

Well… maybe I can let him off this one time. "Oh yeah! I remember seeing Katsuya-kun at the sheet yesterday!" Damn it, there goes my hopes of staying out of trouble.

I smiled sheepishly with a chuckle. "I kind of did. I thought it would be fun!"

"What!? But Why Juliet too? You're a man aren't you?" he argued.

My eye twitched, I know how he was raised and what he was made to believe, but I still hate sexist comments like those! "It is actually considered the highest caliber of skill during Shakespeare's time to be able to perform the role of a woman flawlessly. Are you skillful and man enough to play the role of Juliet, Ranma?" I smirked challengingly.

His temper flared up as expected. "Is that a challenge?"

I smiled brightly. "If you're willing to accept, then sure." I quickly added, "Friendly competition of course." Do you think I want to get maimed? He practices anything goes, which means dirty tricks are allowed.

"Friendly… competition?" he said it as if it's completely foreign to him… oh wait, it is.

"Men!" Akane huffed before storming out.

"Akane…" He seemed pained that Akane was mad at him again.

I turned to the drama club member and whispered. "Where is the auditions held?"

He lit up almost immediately. "It's at the gymnasium during club hours."

"We'll see you then!" I ushered him out of the classroom.

"Katsuya-kun want to have lunch with us?" asked one of the girls.

I twitched and sweated nervously. "Actually, I have something I want to talk to Ranma about!" I quickly grabbed my bag and Ranma by the shoulder and dragged him out before he can comment about the abrupt leaving. "Sorry ladies!" I flashed them another smile before disappearing from the classroom.

I dropped the smile once out of their sight and pushed Ranma to the roof. "So! What do you want to talk to me about?" he grinned happily.

"I am really surprised at your adaptability," I commented dryly under my breath before plopping down against the fence, furthest from the door.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, did you bring lunch?" I love food questions, they always distract people.

He sighed. "No, Akane made lunch."

I grinned. "Well, I made extra. It was supposed to be for you, Akane-san and me, but since she's furious with the both of us, why don't we eat her share too?"

He gave me a strange look; I was expecting a glow of excitement at the mention of food. "Are you related to the Hibikis by any chance?"

I gave him a puzzled look. "I don't know any Hibikis." Not exactly lying, I don't know any Hibikis personally. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that… Your fangs and your sense of direction…"

I blinked in surprise before laughing. "Fangs are not uncommon… though, I can't say much about direction sense." I shrugged. "But I really don't know any Hibiki."

He still seemed a bit uncertain but accepted my words none the less. "So what's lunch?" he perked up.

"Okonomiyaki, it's not as good as my aunt's though. She's a real pro!" Yes, I know how to make it. You're probably thinking, OH how Mary Sue of her… Well, don't! I was trained personally by my aunt and she's a true master in okonomiyaki, she is a hell of a strict teacher. I'm nowhere near her abilities though… There's this one little quirk about my cooking that I can't seem to get rid of…

"Hey, this sweet," he said in surprise. Yep, I have a sweet touch. Everything I make turns out sweet, even if I don't use sugar… which is bad for me because I get major sugar highs. "It's almost as good as Ukyo's." Surprisingly, he's actually taking his time to eat this. "How did you get the meat sweet? You did the same thing with dinner last time too!"

"It's more like I can't get it to stop being sweet… So what do you think? Like it? Hate it?" I munched on my own.

"It's sweet!" he smiled brightly as he munched on it. I guess he has a sweet tooth… Hmm… come to think of it, my dad and sis has a serious case of sweet tooth too. They're about the only ones in the house that likes my cooking.

Well, lunch went on peacefully… which is quite a surprise. I had to look around just to make sure it was really safe before I dragged Ranma off to the gymnasium for the auditions (He complained the whole way there, but didn't really do anything to get away, I have his honor!). On my way there, I made sure to stop and tell Akane's friends to get Akane to come. Even if she's mad she shouldn't miss Ranma's most embarrassing moment!

"Katsuya! Glad you can make it!" the director shouted gleefully as I stepped in. I sweat dropped when I saw the horrid fan club sitting around the gymnasium. "I couldn't do anything about them though… I owe Nabiki a favor." He whispered with a strain.

Ah, I'm guessing she's the one that signed me up. "It's not a problem."

"Good, good! Then we'll start with the auditions!" he clapped.

The door slammed open and the most obnoxious voice I've ever hear spoke aloud. "How dare you start without the Mighty Blue Thunder Tatewaki Kuno!"

"Kuno sempai…" the drama cast backed away in horror. Can't blame them; I would do the same to if Kuno came up to me like that… Though I'm surprised that he actually came to the audition.

He points his bokuto at me. "I don't know what sorcery you have learned from the sorcerer Ranma! You blue-eyed demon, but I will not let to continue to defile the sanctity of Furinkan! You dare take the fair maiden Akane's lips away from me."

"WHAT!?" the fan girls screamed.

I blinked rapidly and stepped away from Ranma, I'm not sure how brash he is in this situation, but better be safe for a few more seconds. "Pardon? I don't believe I've ever kissed anyone in short of my mother and that's only on the cheek." This is true; I promised mom and dad I'm not going to date until I'm completely done with schooling.

"I am not implying you defiled dear Akane," he damn well sounds like he's implying a whole lot of crap. "Merely suggesting your underhanded ways to deny her of being Juliet!"

Oh that… Should've known Kuno would pick fights for the worst reasons… I guess it's time to play his game now. "Kuno sempai, I have—"

"Cease talking you sorcery apprentice!" he roared before marching over to the director. "Commence the auditioning!"

I wasn't sure why he did the auditions for the minor characters first, but I don't really care. He's the director, so he'll do it his way. I rubbed my irritated nose; it's a bit dusty in here… I'm allergic to dust. When it was Kuno's turn to proceed with Romeo's role, I sneezed repeatedly… not purposely though. I had Kuno glaring at me after my third sneeze. Not that it matters anyway. He was rewording Shakespeare's words and mauling into some floral nonsense. Shakespeare must be rolling in his grave right now. Don't worry dear Shakespeare! I'll redeem your work!

"Katsuya! You're up next! Death scene! Act five, scene three. Use the mannequin please."

I strode over to the dusty mannequin before flipping the pages and clearing my throat; it's starting to get flemmy. "From this world-wearied flesh," my eyes watered, stupid allergies. "Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace!" I coughed, "and lips! O you! The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss." I whispered as my throat itched badly.

"Katsuya, skip to the poison!"

"Here's to my love!" I choked out. "O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die." I covered my mouth coughing and the tears welding up. I dropped to a knee holding my chest. It was burning.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! You can take a break Katsuya!"

Wonderful? I wasn't even acting! I'm getting allergy attacks! Why is this place so dusty!? "Katsuya-kun! You were wonderful!" the girls gushed. I smiled weakly before sitting aside wiping away the tears from my irritated eyes.

"That's all the Romeo candidates! Moving on! The Juliets!" What!? Kuno and I are the only ones for Romeo!? "Ranma, Act five, scene three, Juliet awakens to the dead Romeo."

I grinned as Ranma hesitantly walked up with the book in his hand. I could see Nabiki and Akane watching intently. "Go for it Ran-chan!" Ukyo cheered… Odd, was Ukyo supposed to be here? I don't really remember.

"Uh… What here… uh… a cup in my true love's…" he fumbled through the script with no grace and occasionally changed the words when she couldn't read it.

I stopped paying attention after a while and covered my nose and mouth with the helm of my sleeve hoping it would filter some of the dust. It's enough that I have to listen to Kuno maul Shakespeare, I don't need to hear Ranma's non-floral version. I glanced over to Akane and saw her hands clenched up tightly in fury and envy. Maybe I shouldn't have suggested the change…

"Katsuya? Katsuya!" I snapped up from my daze. "It's your turn to play Juliet."

I blinked a few times before dragging myself back into the spot light and snapped the script to the right page. "O happy dagger!" I covered my mouth in a slight cough. "This is thy sheath; there rust, let me—" I covered my mouth as I fell into a fitful of coughs and heaves. I gasped for air, but only to inhale the dust and cough even more.

"Very well done Katsuya, but I think Juliet can die right now." That idiot! I'm coughing out a lung here and he thinks I'm still acting!?

I tried to leave the gymnasium before my allergy attack gets to its final stage, but I didn't make even a step, when I collapsed to the ground trembling and coughing. "Oi! Katsu isn't acting!" Ranma shouted.

"Everyone move out of the way!" Akane shouted. "Ranma, carry him to the infirmary!" That's the last thing I heard before the chaotic screams of the fan girls broke out.

o.o.o.o.o

Three bottles of water, two changes of wet towels and half an hour later, I was sitting in the infirmary bed with a horrible headache, a sore throat and a stuffy nose. "How are you feeling?" Akane asked worriedly.

How I wish I had a bottle of Claritin allergy meds right now… too bad it isn't even developed yet! Ugh... I hope Tofu sensei is right about opening my chi points can improve on my health. I'm quite certain that I will not be dying from the dangers of Nerima. Much rather, dead from the danger of a dust bunny attack. I must've pissed off someone in my past life or something, because I'm even sicklier than Gosunkugi!

"I'm fine now… I thought I could get through the rest of the audition before my allergies kicked in completely." I laughed sheepishly.

"Why didn't you say anything!?" the two snapped furiously.

"I forgot?" they face faulted at my answer. I must confess one thing; I do have a very bad memory. Unless it kills me, I often forget the long list of allergies I get. Dust doesn't necessarily kill me, just makes me suffer for a long while… Rarely, to the point of unconsciousness.

"How can you forget these—" Akane was promptly cut off.

Ranma placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it shouldn't be weird. Ryouga loses his way all the time right? Maybe Katsu just forgets very easily."

"Hey Akane-san…" she glanced over to me. "Sorry about the Juliet thing." She smiled, maybe she's over it?

**SLAP**

"I forgive you," she turned her heel and left. Maybe not.

I raised a hand to my stinging face biting back a scream of pain. Man! This girl can hit! I don't even remember my dad hitting that hard! Well… then again, dad usually doesn't make it a habit to hit girls. I curled over with my head against my knees.

Ranma snickered. "For once I'm glad I'm not on the other side."

"Laugh at my pain why don't you?" I hissed with my eyes watering as I sat up. It seems like I'm taking all of Ranma's punishment by just being here… Why is that? He continued to snicker as I tossed a pillow at his face; he easily caught it and returned it into my face.

o.o.o.o.o

"You're adapting very well Katsuya-kun," Tofu sensei chirped. "You almost manage to stay awake this time."

I groaned, not daring to move more than necessary. I was draped over one of the couches in Tofu sensei's office with a cold towel over my eyes. This time, instead of being stabbed, it was being burned alive starting from my eye sockets.

"Does this mean I don't need my reading glasses anymore?"

"You wear glasses?" he seemed genuinely surprised.

"It's just reading glasses. I can see long distances perfectly fine… though… it doesn't feel like I can open my eyes for a while."

"Your eyes should be fine; it just needs a little rest from the extra chi in your system." I groaned again. "But on the bright side, with the stored chi you've got from the chi points your body is nearly working as if you have 98 chi points open."

"Then does that mean I don't have to open all the points?" I grumbled.

"Hmm… I'm not too certain yet. While your store chi is more than I expected, I'm not sure if you'll have enough once the store chi is used up."

"Then can't I just open the points later if that's the case?"

"I forgot to mention—" Now what? "If you're going to open chi points, there's an age and time limit. Unless it was sealed by another, it's usually not wise to open chi points unnecessarily, more so if those points have stored chi. The best time for you to open them is before you become twenty. After the age of twenty, it'll be risky to open them recklessly."

"How long does it take for store chi to run out?" I asked.

"A few years, so if we waited, it would be too late by the time it runs out and returns to normal." He chuckled. "So you'll have to get your points all opened up."

"Can you write me a note, I don't want to go to school tomorrow," I'm not sure if it came out a whine or a groan, too much pain to care.

"Come now Katsuya, you need to move and get used to the extra chi in your body. Besides, you don't want your grades to suffer do you?"

"Grades don't really matter to me… question, is it okay if I have a light source being directed to my eyes after this?"

"Are you planning to have a flash light against your eye?" he asked.

"No, just asking… So what's the amount of light am I allowed to stare at, at the moment?"

"As long as it's not harsh light, you should be fine." I heard his shuffle around the room. "What are you planning to do?"

I peeled off the wet cloth and blinked a few times to adjust my eyes to the light. It still stung a little, but it wasn't as bad as before. "Nothing harmful, I'll see you tomorrow Tofu sensei."

That's two days, six chi points opened, but another fifty-eight more to go. I sighed exasperatedly as I strolled through the market to pick up more food. With Ranma stopping by what seems like daily; I don't think I can go two days without doing another shopping trip. Man, I really hate shopping; it's just so boring and tedious… Oh well, at least it's for food.

"This much for pork? I don't even want to know how much the price went up for beef." I muttered under my breath.

"Come back here!" I glanced up at the voice of the butcher. He was chasing an interesting little black piglet with a yellow bandanna.

Poor guy, he should really get a break once in a while. I quickly stepped in and grabbed him before he ran off again. "I'm sorry, but this piglet has an owner."

"What proof do you have? That thing doesn't have a name tag or a collar." snarled the butcher.

Ah, right… I forgot about that. I quickly answered the first thing that came to my mind. "He belongs to Ranma Saotome." Ryouga fidgeted furiously in my arms, but the butcher froze in horror.

"S-Saotome!? The property destroyer!?" I had to blink at that. I didn't know the locals gave him a title. "Take the pig! I don't want him anywhere near my shop! SHOO! SHOO!"

With that, I was shoved out of the shop before I got my meat… I wonder does black piglet taste good right about now. He continued to struggle and attempted to bite me a few times, but with a few spins by the bandanna and a firm hand over his mouth, I managed to hold him to a more controllable state. Though, it is a bit hard since he's so small. It's much easier if he was as big as my dog, with my dog, I can use my arms as well, but he's just so puny. My hands still aren't that big, even as a guy.

"Stay still would you P-chan! I'm trying to help you here!" He continued to struggle before I finally snapped furiously. "Don't make me suggest to Akane-san to get you neutered." He became stiff again. I let out a breath of relief. "Good, I'm glad we understand each other. You're pretty smart for a pig," I grinned and tapped him on the nose. I can't help it; he looks as adorable as a piglet! "Tell you what; I'll make you dinner before I take you back to Akane-san."

"Bwuhe!" he responded in confusion.

"Now… Where the hell am I?" I sweat dropped and glanced around.

"Bwuhe…" his expression dropped dejectedly.

"Oh right! I was supposed to get vegetables!" I concluded and… promptly got lost again. I didn't get home until an hour later. I wonder… Why does it seem like my sense of direction seems to be a bit worst today?

I set him down on the counter as I unloaded the groceries and my bag. "Now you sit right there and DON'T MOVE! Or I'll slice you up and roast you for tomorrow's dinner!" He froze in horror at the sight of the cleaver. I changed from my dangerous scowl to a cheerful smile. "Now, what would be a good dinner menu for tonight?" I placed down the cleaver and set a pot of hot water to boil for the vegetables.

"GAH!!!" I closed my eyes with a strained smile over my face. My daily visitor has crashed into my apartment once again… at least I cushioned it with my futon this time. Don't think I'm being considerate; I don't want him denting my wall! Though… I should really consider changing that window to a dog door, so I don't have to bother with the patching up.

"I guess I'll ask Ranma what he wants to eat tonight," I gave a broken laugh before sorting through the ingredients.

"Bwehe!" I glanced up to Ryouga's angry tap on the counter.

"Is something wrong?"

"Bwehe, bwehe! Bwehe!" he continued to tap and pointed where the sound of Ranma crashing in came from.

"Katsu! Thanks for putting a futon there! Akane's aim is being dead accurate lately. What's for dinner?" Ranma commented as he strolled in. He paused and glared at Ryouga when he spotted him. "What are you doing here, Ryouga!?" he hissed in an attempt to not have me listen…

Too bad he doesn't know my hearing is quite sensitive. I can hear mouse frequencies… don't call it cool! IT IS NOT! You do not know how maddening it is to hear those mouse away radio traps. I was banging my head against the floor, hunting each and everyone down in the house when my sister set them around the house to get rid of our pest problem. And you know what happened? The mice weren't even bothered by it!

When I turned around I found Ryouga with his teeth firmly around Ranma's right arm and the pigtailed martial artist trying to swing him off. I mentally sighed as I reached for my cleaver; Ryouga is bound to break something.

"What did I say pig!?" I pointed the cleaver dangerously.

"A-ah, Katsu? What are you doing?" Ranma asked as he and Ryouga froze and backed away slightly.

"I said I'll cook you if you moved!" I snapped.

"BWEHE!" Ryouga coward in Ranma's arms in an attempt to flee from me.

"Katsu! Calm down for a sec! You don't want to kill this pig!" Ranma quickly backed away further from me.

"Don't worry! I'll buy a new one for Akane-san, one that's more obedient," I added. Man, it's fun to watch Ryouga coward in horror. Hehe, being evil is fun! "My dad taught my how to make a very nice roast pork dish." And he really did, especially when I was young. We had pork almost daily.

"Bwehee!!!!" Ryouga cried again and tapped Ranma on the chest rapidly before pointing at me. Ranma blinked confusingly, until he jumped out of his arms.

My eyes widened, he wasn't pointing at me! He was pointing at the pot behind me! "Hey I was kidding you crazy pig! Don't jump into the pot!"

I'm not interested in looking at any male's naughty bits! I even change in the bathroom during gym to avoid looking at all! I raised my free hand in an attempt to catch him, but I missed by a centimeter and he plunged into the water. PLEASE don't let the water be warm enough to change him back! I winced as I heard the pot topple over, no doubt with the now human Ryouga. Shit, how am I supposed to react? Shocked? Disgusted? Horrified?

"Uh Katsu?" Ranma asked.

Stunned, I decided, as I dropped the cleaver on the ground and quickly left the room and hurried over to my drawer to dig out some clothes. I know! I'll go back to Tofu sensei for another chi point opening session! And hopefully it'll gorge out my eyes this time. Ack! The fire is still on in the kitchen! I hurried back and tossed the pile of clothes and Ryouga before hurrying to the stove.

"Katsu?" Ranma asked again.

"I'm not going to ask! So don't bother telling me. Get your friend, whoever he is dressed and seated outside, I'll have dinner out in a while." I said as I worked. Quick to the point, and no loophole to come back to bite my ass later. Dinner was a bit awkward, but it went by quickly.

"Hey Katsu—"

"Like I say, I won't ask, so don't bother telling. Ryouga-san, you're welcome back here anytime just as Ranma… just don't turn back in front of me if you're in your other form."

"It's a cursed form—"

"Don't tell me!" I interrupted. "I'll call it that if you want me to, but I don't want to know anymore. I'll see you at school tomorrow Ranma. And I'll see you if you plan on visiting again Hibiki-san."

Ranma swung a playful arm over my shoulder. "Just call him Ryouga! Yeesh! Why do you have to be so formal all the time?"

"It's the matter of choice if someone wants to be polite Ranma," I replied dryly before pulling his arm off my shoulder. "I believe it's getting late and you should get back before Akane-san decides to send you back here for the night. Her aim is very impeccable."

"Tell me about it," Ranma grumbled before turning to leave. "Night Katsu!"

"Thanks for the meal!" Ryouga said in turn.

I waved them good night before closing the door and whipping out my laptop. I haven't touched this in days; it's pretty much useless to my effort to live in this world though. It has no internet access and no Ranma files. The only thing it's good for is typing up documents, printing and most importantly, gaming! Now excuse me for the next five hours to destroy my brain cells with mindless gaming. You're going down Sephiroth!

o.o.o.o.o

"Good morning Ka—"

"Go to hell!" I snapped as I stalked to school with a dark cloud over my head. Maybe I should've gotten more than half an hour of sleep before school started… Oh well, too late to care now!

"Katsuya-sama!" I froze in horror and quickly turned around. My eyes widened before I turned back towards the school and ran. RUN! RUN FOR MY FUCKING LIFE! "OHOHOHOHO!" Do you feel my sense of dread right now?

"Out of my way!" I snapped and rudely shoved people aside; unfortunately, the ribbon caught my ankle and pulled me off the ground.

"Don't run Katsuya-sama! We must get going before Ranma-sama arrives!" she cackled again.

"Kodachi-san, don't' you have school?" I scowled and struggled through the bindings of her ribbon. It's too early for this nonsense!

"It's Saturday! My school follows the practice of the westerners."

Oh right, I completely forgot about the Saturday school doesn't apply to the catholic schools. Saturday school during my time was just recently taken off the curriculum, but I did have them during elementary and junior high school… At least I don't have to go to cram school here… Hey wait! I'm going off topic.

"Kodachi-san! But I still have school!"

"Katsuya-sama is an intelligent being! You can catch up easily!"

"Apprentice sorcerer! I see you've ensnarled my little sister." I struggle a bit to see Kuno strolling up casually.

"Good morning onni-sama!"

"Kuno sempai! I have no intentions of—"

"I approve!" he whipped out his fan and laughed. "I question your interests, but this is a great improvement to whatever poor damsel you decide to take!"

Oh all the luck! "Hey look! It's Ranma and Akane!" I shouted.

Kodachi made a squeak before dropping me entirely and fled to hide. I struggle a bit to pull off the stubborn ribbon before stumbling to my feet and dashing for the school. By the time I got there I was a heaving mess. Though, it's slightly better than what usually happens back home. I leaned against the wall and slumped to the ground trying to catch my breath.

"Interesting morning isn't it Shinochi-san?" I gave a weak laugh as I glanced up to Nabiki.

"Good morning Tendo sempai." I pulled myself off the ground and pat the dust off my pants.

"Not many people can escape Kodachi Kuno without fighting, you're the first."

"Is there something you want Tendo sempai?" I asked with a smile.

She seemed to pause for a second before smiling again… I wonder why she paused. "It's really a pity that you couldn't be in the play Shinochi-san."

"It is, isn't Tendo sempai? I was actually looking forward to it." Lies! All lies! But what better way to annoy someone that's trying to irritate you? She seemed surprised by my answer as well. The bell rung. "Well, I better get to class before I'm late. Talk to you again some other time Tendo sempai!"

Let's hope there's no other surprises when I… "Katsuya Shinochi!"

"H-Hai!" I stuttered in surprise when my homeroom teacher shouted my name as I entered.

"Oh good, you're just in time, take your seat please."

"H-hai…" I laughed sheepishly as I walked to my desk, but before I even made it there.

"Katsuya Shinochi and Ranma Saotome!" A hand grabbed onto my shoulder. "The drama club will be borrowing these two students for the play!"

"What?" I gapped.

"Oh yes, the principle mentioned it earlier. "Ranma and Katsuya you two are excused for the day to help the drama club."

I heard nothing about this! "Man, I really don't want to do this! Wasn't yesterday enough?" Ranma grumbled.

"Yesterday?" I asked, but didn't get an answer as I was nearly hauled out of the classroom. "Wait! I wasn't even told that I got a part!" I complained.

"Oh! You're not playing a part Katsuya-san! You're helping Ranma rehearse Juliet."

"I'm what?" I blinked a few times as they pulled a dust mask over my face and shoved me into the gymnasium yet again. I face faulted at the ridiculous sight of Kuno rehearsing. "I think I'm going to stay in the infirmary for the rest of the day! Good day!"

"Don't leave me here with them Katsu! You don't know what they've been doing!" Ranma begged. I raised an eyebrow at him. He's begging?

I sighed. "Fine, let me see what he's been doing wrong…" They went through the whole play once… I nearly wet myself laughing. Ranma was growling all his lines at Kuno, while the later was hissing and snarling.

"Looks like a circus if you ask me," I glanced back at the voice and spotted Ryouga.

I held my mask as I tried to pull back my chuckles. "R-Ryouga-san, haha, I didn't know you were here."

"Oh? What are you doing here P-chan?" smirked Ranma.

"Who are you calling P-chan!?" He flushed.

I blinked. "But Ranma is right—"

"What!?" Ryouga turned to me furiously.

I waved my hand quickly to placate him. "I meant why are you here."

"The porker probably got lost again," Ranma laughed before he got a bucket full of cold water in his face.

"You forgot something, I just came to return it," he said smugly.

"Of course!" Takeshi shouted as he jumped out of his seat. "How could I have forgotten that!?" He practically pranced onto the stage and grabbed Ranma-chan by the hands and shook it psychotically. "Ranma, you're completely perfect for the part of Juliet!"

I winced as Kuno punched him aside and grabbed onto Ranma. "How dare you touch my pigtail goddess!"

"Ryouga-san, that's sweet of you to help Ranma keep his part," I said with a snicker.

He returned with a snicker of his own. "Of course, I would _always_ do my best to help my rival."

We glanced at each other for a second before cracking up in laughter. Without saying much, I'll tell you the play was a hitter with the audience that came to watch the play. It also started something terrifying. Very, very terrifying… I dread and I hope I really wasn't the cause or the start of this terrible craze. I—

"Katsuya-kun! Is it true that you're madly, even deeply in love with Ranma? That's why you make such loving lunches and share with him daily? Huh? Huh!?" the girls shouted excitedly.

"Don't be silly! Why would I—"

"Katsuya-kun you pervert!" Akane roared.

"Akane-san! It's not what you think!" I raised my hands in defense as she pulled out her mallet.

"Come on Katsu!" Ranma grabbed me by the arm and hauled me out of the window.

"RANMA!!!" I screamed as it was the third floor he just pulled me out of.

"KYA!!! Look! Ranma is even saving him! It's true!"

I have started the world's greatest horror... Yaoi fandom… Forgive me world! No offense to same gender relationships, what they do in their bed in the dark is none of my business. But what their fan girls do to the world is mine! Stop pairing up straight people with their own gender, you psycho bitches! Oh yeah, where was I? Right, hugging my knees in the corner of the roof rocking back and forth chanting, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

"Oi Katsu, snap out of it," Ranma said as he shook me.

I snapped up and grabbed Ranma by the shoulders and shook him. "Did you know what I just did Ranma!? I just brought the greatest horror to the world! I created the yaoi fandom! It's all my fault! I caused it to happen!" I released him as my hands started to shake. "They're never going to leave you alone now! Wait… They'll never leave me alone!"

"Breathe Katsu! BREATHE!" he hammered my back as I hyperventilated.

"They're going to make me uke… I don't want to be uke! Don't uke me!" I wailed but suddenly I felt a sharp pain at my neck before everything became dark again.

o.o.o.o.o

"Oi! Shinochi! Wake up!" I awoke to a stinging slap to the face.

"Ow!" I groaned as I sat up rubbing my face. A bit curious to why I'm soaking wet. "What was that for—Tendo… sempai?"

"Where did Ranma go?" she asked in a haste.

"What?" I asked as I looked up, it was late noon already. Hey wait a sec; shouldn't I be on the school roof? What am I doing on the park bench?

"Shinochi, wake up!" She snapped and pulled at my chin to catch my attention. "Do you know where they took Ranma? They took the rest of the jusenkyo cursed beings as well!"

"They took…" my eyes widened. Crap! The Jusenkyo Preservation Society (JPS) is here. "Can't be here…"

"What was that?"

"I can't be here…" I murmured as I started heaving again and stumbling to my feet.

"Shinochi?"

"I'm not feeling too well; I think I'm going to head to Tofu sensei. I hope you'll find Ranma." I murmured before stumbling off with a hand to my head.

"Wait, you're not going to help—"

"Tendo sempai," I sighed exasperatedly before turning back to her with a tired slump. "I'm not a martial artist, I have no special abilities and heck, I have the worst health in Furinkin. I'm probably the worst person to ask to look for Ranma if he's in any trouble. If anything, Ranma can take care of himself. If I went I probably become more of a hassle to have around."

"So you're the type to just ditch your friends?" she smirked.

"Don't assume anything Tendo sempai. I take my friends quite seriously, but if they can handle themselves, I'm not going to needlessly step in. He's old enough to take care of himself." I promptly sneezed before realizing I'm soaking wet. "Now if you would excuse me, I need to get a set of dry clothes before I catch a cold."

It wasn't until a block later I realized how odd it was to see Nabiki. Seemingly worried about the others as well… Maybe she was trying to catch me off guard? Ah, I have a headache, I don't want to think. However, it wasn't a choice if I wanted to or not. A plunger arrow smacked right into my forehead with a note attached to it. I stumbled in surprise before yanking off the thing irritably and flung the note open. Inside was:

Dear Katsuya Shinochi-san,

This is the Jusenkyo Preservation Society formally apologizing for our mistake earlier today. Our members have accidentally mistaken you for Ranma Saotome, another Jusenkyo member, and have done minor harm to your person. You are hereby excused from associating with Ranma Saotome. However, we advise you not to follow his steps in atrocities. The Jusenkyo Preservation Society watches over all Jusenkyo members closely and will not tolerate such acts. As of now, we are carrying out punishment to Ranma and a number of others that has broken the Jusenkyo law. If you are interested in seeing what might happen if you broke the Jusenkyo laws, you are welcome to come observe; the location is at the bottom. We bid you a good day and hope you use your abilities well.

Sincerely,

Jusenkyo Preservation Society

Member? What bull shit! Victims! We're victims! Member my ass! And what kind of sadist are they!? If I'm interested in watching them carry out their punishments!? I crumpled the letter in my hand before stalking into the closest convenience store. My dad told me this once… Oh fine, he told me probably over a few thousand times. I have a short temper with a big red button to push. You disagree? Then you don't know me that well!

In the words of my good old friend Rei. "She's a psycho bitch that has a crazy temper that gets angry at the weirdest things. And has the strangest sense of vengeance."

And that's why I came out ten minutes later with an ammunition belt of water balloons strung across my chest and six bottles of water strapped to my belt. I shifted the dust mask on my face before pumping up the water gun in my hand before marching back to the location on the letter. Though… I didn't curse at my own stupidity until I missed my target and remembered how bad my aim is.

"You idiot! What are you doing!? Run!" Ranma snapped.

I made a hazardous jump from one ledge to the other, nearly tripping and falling in the process. I gave a yelp as the man swung down his spear and rolled out of the way before grabbing one of the balloons and smashed it in his face. That brought another problem… The balloon I bought has very good elastic stretchiness… so it didn't pop.

"GAH!" I shouted and stumbled to my feet and ran. Now why am I in this situation again? Just as I ran at the next tree I bit back a scream of pain when I felt hot water hit my back. FUCK! Hot water! I quickly grabbed one of the water bottles and doused myself with cold water before running again. Ow! That really hurt!

"I got you now!" He roared and swung his spear yet again.

I gave a yelp as I dropped to the ground. However, before I could do anything else, a pair of hands grabbed my ankles and pulled me away from my attacker, by slipping through the spot between his legs.

"Give me those Katsu!" I quickly pulled off the belt of water balloons and tossed it to Ranma before stumbling to a safe spot to watch. Apparently panda Genma helped him out of the ropes and he himself got the hot water the JPS were using to torture him and the others.

While Ranma dealt with the JPS with the curse of the virtuous monk, I plotted on how to deal with the stash of hot water. I really wish my dad let me have martial arts lessons as a kid! Even as a man in his forties he's still has more fighting experience. The only thing I have over him is youth… and oddly I have a sense of dread that a man in green spandex would suddenly jump out and start hugging me.

"Bwehe!" I looked down and found Ryouga… he managed to get here without getting lost?

"Ryouga-san?"

"Bwehe! Bwehe!" He pointed at the kettle.

"You want to turn back and help?" I asked. He nodded determinedly. I bit my lower lip. Now, how am I going to get near him without getting hit by hot water? "Ryouga-san…"

"Bwehe?" he glanced at me again.

"Sorry," I murmured before grabbing him by the bandanna and tossed him at the JPS with the hot water. I winced as he hit the kettle; I was aiming for the JPS head actually. At least he got the water right?

"Katsu!" I quickly turned to Ranma's voice. He's out of water balloons.

I tossed the water gun towards his direction; I really didn't bother to aim, seeing how bad it is. Luckily, he managed to catch it, but the JPS was right behind him and was about to slice him. "RANMA! Behind—"

My warning was unnecessary as Ryouga kicked the guy aside. I quickly put my head down, not wanting to see anymore of Ryouga's nakedness. Once is more than enough. Damn it I want to watch the fight! I quickly shrugged off my jacket and unbutton the white shirt. I make it a habit to wear a tank or a t-shirt under it… Why does it seem like I'm always lending my clothes to Ryouga? Ah forget it; I'll wait till they're done. I sat behind a tree wringing my shirts dry, try to anyway. Hopefully, if I lend it to Ryouga he won't change… though changing might be a good thing!

"YOU STUPID PANDA! LIKE HELL I WOULD FORGIVE YOU!" I guess he's done!

"Achoo!" I sneezed; I peeled off the wet dust mask and tossed it aside.

"Oi Katsu! Thanks for the help!" Ranma greeted me cheerfully. I sneezed again before waving it off.

I glance around for second before throwing the shirt at Ryouga. "Just wear that Ryouga; it should long enough to cover… erm..." I muttered before sneezing again.

"Growfph!" I glanced over to the noise and spotted Panda Genma crawling out of the water pit the JPS used.

"Panda…" I blinked. "CUTE!" I squealed. Even knowing its Genma, pandas are still cute!

"Katsu, that's my pops," Ranma commented.

I gave him a dry look. "I don't want to know, but I'll let you know one thing! Your dad is adorable!"

"You sound like a girl." Ryouga's comment made me freeze.

"DON'T UKE ME!" I pointed furiously at him. "I'm not a girly man!"

"Uke?" Ranma said in puzzlement.

"Meow!" I stiffened at the sound. I completely forgotten Shampoo and Mousse was taken as well.

"C-CAT!!!" I screamed and backed away. Don't get me wrong! I'm not scared of cats. I'm not up a tree like where Ranma currently is… then again it could also be that I can't climb a tree, but that's not my point.

"Katsuya, you're scare of cats?" Ryouga asked as he buttoned up the last of the buttons and tugged the shirt down a bit more.

"Who's afraid of those fur balls!? I'm a-achoo!" I sneezed again and sniffled miserably. "Allergic to them."

o.o.o.o.o

And so, I was sick the next day with a cold… and I still have to come in for work. Since it was Sunday, business was usually pretty slow, so I brought something to do while I sat at the counter waiting. I've already restocked the books and put in the orders during the morning. Hopefully, this thing won't kill me; I'm attempting to make myself a pair of roller blades from scratch. This thing isn't going to be out for another twenty years. Sure, roller skates would probably be out in a while, but those things have no speed. I'm trying to cut down the time to get to school so I can sleep a bit longer.

"Katsuya! What are you doing!?" Nishio shouted as he entered. "I'm not paying you to do arts and craft!"

"Nishio," I sighed. "There is no one around during this time, I'm just being productive. Besides, it's for school. I'm sure you don't want to be held accountable if I don't do it."

He frowned. "What exactly are you making?"

"Transportation," I grinned. "Since I don't have enough to buy a bike, I'll have to make due with this. This way, I won't be late for school." I spun the wheels on my homemade blade… and the wheel fell out. "Still have some faults to fix before I can use it though."

"Fine, but when a customer comes in, that stuff disappears!" he said before stalking off.

"Of course," I sighed and pushed the glasses up the bridge of my nose before going back to fiddling with the pieces… I miss my brother, even if he is an ass. Arts and craft as Nishio calls it, isn't my specialty, more of my brother… or even my sister. Both engineers… who I'm not meant to be… you've already seen my talents.

_Ring_

That's my cue to put the stuff away. I mentally signed as I shuffled the stuff under the counter before I greeted the customer with a smile. "Good afternoon, welcome to Shimizu's Bookshop, how may I be of your service?"

"Plenty of things Shinochi," drawled the ice queen.

"Tendo sempai, what a coincidence? May I help you?" I continued as if nothing happened.

She grinned as she leaned on the counter. "I didn't know you wear glasses."

I blinked a few times before taking them off. "They're reading glasses, or close range glasses," I hooked it onto my necklace before giving another smile. "Of course, I wouldn't need glasses to see beauty."

Nabiki was startled by my boldness and flushed slightly after I started laughing. She's embarrassed that I caught her off guard. I'm not surprised, since I don't think anyone really had the guts to ever flirt with Nabiki. Don't get me wrong, I am not interested in girls, being a girl myself. However, it is very amusing to watch girls get flustered and blush. Though, if they start stammering and throw their voice in high pitch squeaks I'll get annoyed. Not sure if they're doing it on purpose or whatever, but the attempt to act cute is sickening… I'm going off topic again aren't I? I really have to stop doing that.

"Kasumi heard you were sick, so she decided to have me deliver this to you." She placed a small warmer pot in front of me.

"She shouldn't have!" I said modestly, but in truth, she really shouldn't have. Not likely I can eat her cooking with my lousy stomach. "It must've been a long walk here—"

"Katsuya! I'm not paying you to flirt with the customers! Even if they're— N-Nabiki Tendo." He stuttered.

"Ah, Nishio Shimizu-san," she smirked.

"I'll leave you two to talk then!" he said before turning around and running back into storage.

I raised an amused eyebrow at her. "Do I want to know?"

"Five hundred yen," she said out of reflex.

I sighed. "Sorry sempai, I'm a little tight on money."

She grinned. "You can owe me."

I chuckled. "I really don't want to see the cost rate by the end of the year sempai. I'll be sure to return the bowl later. A-achoo!"

She smirked. "Feel better Shinochi or your fan girls back at school would start more wild rumors."

"Thanks for the free warning sempai." I sniffed before she turned to leave. Well, that went better than I thought. Should I worry to why Nabiki is so nice? Ah, better not push my luck. Back to work! I pulled out my blades to work on it once again. Interestingly enough, Nishio left me alone for the rest of that time.

o.o.o.o.o

Even as a harsh employer, Nishio still have some good points... or maybe he's just scared shitless by Nabiki, either way is fine with me. He let me off early to test out my little project. The wheels aren't falling off after I strapped the thing on and stood up, that's a good thing. Forward, good, back good, break… still needs some work. Overall, it's a pretty successful attempt. As I bladed towards the hardware store for some more materials, I felt the tingle at the back of my nose and…

I braced myself. "A-Achoo!" I sniffled, but without any warning a warm body pressed up against me from behind and two arms wrapped around my front. I froze in horror of the intimate contact.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I twitched at the familiar voice. I said this once before and I'll say it again. Someone up there really hates me.

"Ranma, remove yourself please." I said as calmly as I could, while still being stiff from the contact.

"I would if I could!" he complained.

"Ranma, let go or you will not have kids in the future." I gritted through my teeth.

"Aiya, Ranma is hugging stupid boy from yesterday… hmm, look like brothers." that accent and grammar is no doubt Shampoo.

"A-achoo!" I sneezed again. Ranma tightened the hug. "Ranma," I said with a warning tone.

"I can't help it! There was something in Shampoo's dumpling!" he complained again.

"And how does that justify you hugging me?" Hmm… dumpling, dumpling… now… oh right, the special mushrooms she used to make them. "Shampoo-san, would you mind removing Ranma for me?"

"Katsu!" I can imagine the look of horror on his face. Since I can't really see him in this angle.

"Gladly," Shampoo giggled.

"A-achoo!" I sneezed again, this time, Ranma practically have his legs around my waist. Crap then that means… "AH!!!!!!!!!!!!" I started rolling backwards and out of control. The hardware store was on a slight hill and my breaks aren't fixed yet. I can't even turn properly with Ranma on my back. We ended up crashing into a mail box, quite painful if you want to know how it feels like.

Someone really hates me…

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Whew! Finally finished with this chapter… don't really like how I ended this chapter. (shrugs) But not really sure how else should I have ended it.

Koganei: So FRI and we'll see you next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

I knew I wasn't really looking for it that hard; I know I should have. Still… I finally found it… but it was broken. I knelt down and picked up the pieces. I winced as it dug into my finger and broke the skin. Damn it, there goes my ticket home.

"Is there a reason you look like something close to you just died?" Nabiki's dry voice made me grin weakly back at her.

"It's nothing sempai… nothing at all…"

**Chapter Four: My Mirror, Love and Drugs**

It's been a week since the dumpling incident, I have approximately 91 chi points opened and my health is improving greatly. Of course, that doesn't mean Nerima's daily chaos would cease just because of this. If anything, it seemed to have gotten worst as I got steadily better… Don't believe me? Why don't you take a look for yourself?

"Out of the way!!!!" I shouted as I sped through the crowd in my blades, narrowly dodging a random pedestrian and jumping over small obstacles as I flee from my pursuer. "It's way too early for this!" I grumbled to myself as I caught the corner light post and force myself to turn sharply without losing momentum.

"Katsuya-sama! It's fate that brought us together! Don't— Katsuya-sama? Katsuya-sama!!!!!" I held my hands tightly over my mouth trying to control my breathing; I was hiding underneath a car… Well, not purposely. My hands slipped during the turn and I ended up sliding under one.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Kodachi was out of sight. I winced as I crawled out from under; I skinned my hands when I slid in. Hmm… maybe I should try making wrist guards and armguards next.

"Katsu-kun? What are you doing under there?" I blinked and looked up at the sweet voice.

"Tendo-san!" I said with delight as I climbed back onto my feet before laughing sheepishly. "I ran into a bit of a trouble earlier."

"Oh my! You're hurt! Let me take care of that for you," she said before whipping out a small first aid kit and tending to my hands. I blinked in surprise when I spotted the bow she tied on the bandage… Interesting, my mom ties the same type of bow.

"Thanks let me help you with those. They seem a bit too much for just one person to hold." It is a bit ridiculous to have her carry all of that. I knew the two Saotomes ate a lot, but this is ridiculous. I grabbed a good two handfuls of bags and walked back to the Tendo residence with her. Kasumi is actually quite an interesting person to talk to. I wouldn't expect her to be interested in cars or camping.

"RANMA!" Akane's voice rang out from the residence as we neared… but something wasn't right. It wasn't a scream of anger or annoyance. It was the scream of… fear?

"Oh my, I wonder what happened," Kasumi said as we entered.

"Why don't we put down the groceries before we go check?" No need to put Kasumi in danger if not necessary.

"Alright then, would you like to stay for lunch Katsu-kun?" she asked sweetly.

"I'd love to," I said honestly. To my surprise, I can actually stomach Kasumi's cooking. It tasted almost exactly like my mom's cooking. To say I was happy was an understatement. I was missing my mother's cooking a lot. We went through the back to the kitchen, but I decided to go check for Kasumi as she stored everything away.

"Akane-san is there something wrong?" I asked as stepped out of the kitchen and down to towards the living room.

"Katsuya-kun! It's Ranma! He's—"

"Ranma?" I asked in puzzlement. "What happened to—"

"Akane-chan?" Chan? I blinked and glanced at the small huddling figure behind Akane. Is that… "Who's that hunk?"

I glanced over to Akane in horror. "What's going on Akane-san?"

She gave a pained smile. "Ranma hit his head in the koi pond earlier… He thinks he's a girl."

"He thinks he's a… girl…" I placed a hand over my mouth and turned away from the two.

Oh, I'm not shocked or horrified by it. I was actually trying to hide my laughter. My shoulders shook in mirth as I tried to hold in my laughter. I would never have thought I would get the chance at seeing this part of the series! Other than Ranma's daily crashes, I don't really see them much outside of school.

"Katsuya-kun, don't feel bad, I'm sure Ranma would get better soon." Akane said trying to comfort me.

I choked back a laugh as my eyes watered. "I-I'm fine Akane-san," I said with a smile and wiping a tear from my eye. "I hope you feel better Ranma."

My personal space was abruptly invaded once again by Ranma. "Are you my boyfriend?"

"W-what?!" I quickly backed away and tripped over the table.

"Akane-chan? Is he?" Ranma asked again.

"Katsuya-kun is…" I glanced over to her in horror, wondering why she stopped in mid-sentence. A grin slipped onto her face. No, I don't like that look! Really don't like that look! "Why yes he is Ranma! Katsuya-kun is your fiancé!"

"Really?" Ranma's face lit up brightly.

"Akane-san!?" I swear my voice squeaked from the horror of the whole situation. Her grin never left her face. My expression dropped. "You're still mad at me aren't you?"

"What made you think that Katsuya-kun?" she said innocently.

"You're an evil woman Akane-san!" I grumbled.

"Katsu-kun! Let's go on a date!" Ranma squealed and looped her arms around my neck.

I gave a horrified scream before shoving off the girl influenced Ranma. "Sorry Ranma! I'll talk to you again when you remember who you are! I have work too! Bye!"

"Katsu-kun!" she whined as I dashed out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"Oh my, is there something the matter Katsu-kun?" Kasumi asked as she finished up the last of the packing.

"N-nothing!" I laughed nervously as I strolled over to my blades quickly. "I don't think I'll be staying for lunch today Tendo-san, I just remember a prior engagement." Oh haha, I used the word engagement… I mentally shuddered. "Oh, I must thank you for the meal from last week. I felt much better after one of your home cooked meals."

"Oh you flatter me," she said modestly with a hand to her face.

"You'll make an amazing mother Tendo-san," she blushed at my comment but smiled. "I think Ranma is going to need all the help he can get today."

"Oh? What happened?" she asked.

"Akane-san said he bumped his head in the koi pond earlier. He actually thinks he's a girl."

"The poor dear," Kasumi said as she place a hand over her mouth. Yep, she would make one awesome mother. "Well, you be careful on your way back okay?"

"Of course Tendo-san, have a nice day!" I said as I strapped in the last buckle and jumped out the door for momentum. Of course, with my luck, I crashed into a fluffy white belly.

"Buquag?" I glanced up and spotted the Genma panda with one of his signs. '_Watch where you're going!_'

I sweat dropped and rolled away from him. "Sorry about that Saotome-san. I hope Ranma gets better!"

o.o.o.o.o

I glanced at my watch as I strolled into the business district. It's about ten, right now; I have about an hour before Nishio bites my head off for not being at the shop. I asked for the morning off to take care of the translation deal I had with Kazuma Yamamoto. Of course, Nishio doesn't know what I'm doing with this time. If I had let him know, he would've gone nuts and demand I cease my association with Yamamoto.

"Let's see… this should be the building…" I glanced up. Well, the place is pretty inviting, not large and monstrous as I originally expected.

I rolled up to the entrance before a loud whistle rang through my ears. "YOU THERE!" I winced with my hands at my ears as a security guard marched up to me. "What are you doing here you hooligan?" Hooligan? "This is no place for your dilly dallying or your hip new gadgets."

"You mean my blades?" I blinked in bafflement.

"Whoa, whoa! No need to get all hip and modern with me." I sweat dropped. Is this guy for real?

"I have an appointment with Yamamoto-san." I said.

"What? What business do you have with Yamamoto-buchou?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm his translator!" I said exasperatedly. "I don't have much time today, can I please just go in to see Yamamoto-san?"

"NEVER! You insolent little hooligan!" he declared dramatically.

I sighed. "I really don't have time for this." I grumbled. I blinked in surprise when I felt the ground rumbling. "Hey, what's going on?" I murmured to myself before I heard a faint voice from the distance. I glanced up and sweat dropped at the cloud of dust rushing towards me.

"KAAAAAAAAAATSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYAAAAAAA!!!!!" and I were abruptly plowed over with two strong hands pulling me into a hug and swinging me around maniacally. "So glad you decided to join our corporation! Have you eaten yet? We'll get lunch!"

"Ya-Yamamoto-san…" I gasped. "Air…"

He paused in his moment of delight and dropped me. "Sorry about that! Well! How about it?"

I coughed and rubbed my arms to regain the circulation. "I'm just here to hand in the translated scripts. I double checked it, so there shouldn't be any mistakes. Sorry about how long it took though, I had some personal problems to deal with."

He was in tears again as he hugged the script like a little boy in Christmas morning… which is quite creepy for a man his age. "My goodness! You're much faster than I expected! I shall give you your pay this instant! Come, we'll talk more in my office!" With that, he latched onto my arm and dragged me off into the building. I feel like I'm being kidnapped for some reason. The security looked horrified as I waved back at him. Poor guy, he was just doing his job… though calling me a hooligan was a bit too much… my mom made an effort to keep me from being a hooligan.

An hour later, I walked out with a stack of scripts, a full wallet, and an all access passes to the company. The poor security guard, I only got his last name, Midorita... I think I'll call him Midori-chan! He was crying in fear of losing his job when I stopped by before I left. At least I feel happier now! One person is more miserable than I am… Hey, I'm not sadistic! I just have a very morbid sense of humor… oh fine, I'm sadistic! Happy?

"RANMA SAOTOME!" a red mailbox crashed in front of me before I stumbled back, landing on my behind in surprise.

"What the hell? Attacking mailboxes?" I said.

"Don't play stupid Saotome!" a voice shouted from inside the box.

"Saotome?" I questioned before it clicked. "YOU THINK I'M RANMA!?" I smashed a furious fist at the thing… but quickly regret it as I pulled my hand back whimpering. "You're wearing a real mailbox!?"

A head popped out from the top of the box before looking at me closely. "Hey! You're not Saotome!"

"Of course I'm not!" I said as I blew on my fist. "Why does everyone say I look like that idiot!?"

She laughed sheepishly. "Well, on closer look you don't, but at a distant you look like him. Sorry about that!"

"Just who the heck are you?" I said as I got up and patted the dust off my clothes.

"Tsubasa Kurenai!" She… I mean he said. It's that crazy cross dresser that likes Ukyo. "Would you happen to know where Ukyo's restaurant is?"

"It should be near Furinkan I believe… Don't know the exact address though…Sorry," I smiled sheepishly. I sweat dropped once again when he invaded my personal space. "Can I help you Kurenai-san?"

"You know… you're kind of cute… in a girlish way." W-WHAT?!

"Pardon?" I strained to keep my voice leveled as I stepped back… into a wall. CRAP!

"Hmm… pity that you're a guy." He shrugged before darting off.

I released a shaking breath of relief. "Damn crazy cross dressers." I muttered under my breath before hurrying back to the book shop.

"KATSUYA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Nishio roared when I entered the shop.

"Katsuya-kun!" the fan girls squealed.

I bit back a groaned and the urge to smack a hand over my face. Of all the luck… how the heck did they find out I work here? "Katsuya-kun," the girls giggled… oh god no… "I didn't know you worked here."

"Nishio! How much do I owe you?" I hurriedly paid and quit on the spot. I don't think I can stand anymore of these fan girls. Well, at least my weekends are free now.

o.o.o.o.o

"The beach?" I questioned groggily as I served a cup of warm egg milk to Ranma… at THREE IN THE FREAKING MORNING!

You have no clue how freaked out I was, to have a female Ranma (Who by the way thought himself as my fiancé earlier today) land on my body and waking me up at THREE in the freaking morning! Apparently, from his story I gather, he fell into the koi pond once again and knocked the memories back into his empty little head… but then he pissed off Akane and got send here via Akane's mallet express. And since my room is also my living room, he flew through his usual window and landed on me… I feel so used and violated… I rubbed my torso, it still hurts a little.

"Thanks," she accepted the milk and drank up. "Still sweet!"

"Now, what is this about going to the beach?" Just to let you know, I really, I mean REALLY, don't like the beach.

"Kasumi told me that Ukyo called earlier about Tsubasa attacking you thinking that you're me… so erm…"

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you inviting me to go to the beach as an apology?"

"Erm… sort of…" she muttered again. "Kasumi asked me to invite you… so it's not really my idea." She looked down with her hands nursing the cup.

I gave an exhausted sigh. "What time are we going tomorrow?"

"Awesome! It's at six!" she said excitedly.

I groaned. "Six? Who wakes up at six?" I whined before ruffling up my hair in irritation. "You can stay if you want, since it's already three. I'm going to bed." I grumbled before crawling back into my futon and bundled myself up in blankets.

I was half asleep when I felt something warm next to me, but by then I was unconscious. However, when I woke up three hours later I was screaming my head off fighting out of the tangle of my blankets to pin myself against the wall furthest from my futon.

"RANMA!" I screeched.

"Wha—it's mornin'?" Ranma said groggily as she sat up rubbing her eyes.

"WHY-THE-HELL-ARE-YOU-IN-MY-BED!?" I said with my teeth gritting.

She shrugged. "It was cold. We're both guys! It doesn't matter!"

"That's not the case damn it!" I ruffled up my hair again in irritation. "Argh, never mind!

o.o.o.o.o

"I hate the beach," I muttered under my breath as I sat under the umbrella and watched the others frolic in the water.

"Maybe you'll like it better if you're not wearing a hoody in this heat." Nabiki commented dryly in her lazy chair as she sun bathe.

"No thank you. I don't need pictures of me topless flying about the school sempai." I said dryly.

"Oh, I'm offended Shinochi-kun," she responded mockingly.

"Say what you want sempai," I retorted before yawning and rubbing my eye.

"Katsu-kun, if you're sleepy, you can take a nap." Kasumi said sweetly as she served a drink to Genma.

"Maybe…" I said somewhat drowsily. Then there was a series of loud screams.

"My bikini top!"

"EEP! PERVERT!"

"HOTCHA!"

Nabiki sighed. "Grandpa Happosai is at it again." I shrugged and pulled my cap down a bit more before laying down for a nap. "You know Shinochi; you look like a cat when you do that." I raised the finger at her, but well hidden, so that only she would see it. She only laughed in response.

There was a slight scuffle between Happosai and Ranma afterwards, but it was pretty much normal… at least until Shampoo came with the ramen… now why did that sound familiar? While I was munching lunch with the rest of the Tendos Shampoo brought on an interesting suggestion that they should find Happosai a date to get him to lay off the bikini raids.

Since I didn't like the beach much, I ended up going with Ranma and Akane to get Happosai his date. All the while an amused grin crossed my face. It's the love pill incidence! Oh man, this is going to be one heck of an interesting day! We found Happosai at the hotel when we told him the details.

"Really you're going to get me a date?!" Happosai said happily he glanced over to me. "Who the heck are you?"

I waved with a grin. "Just a tag along! Don't mind me Happosai-san. I'm sure your date is a beaut, I hope you don't mind me tagging along to sneak a peek."

"Katsuya!" Akane snapped angrily.

"Just kidding!" I fanned off the comment with a slight chuckle. "Shall we go, Ranma? Happosai-san?"

Once we were at Nekohaten, I can only watch in amusement. As the two ghouls fought and the story of the arm band was told. I was eating shaved ice when Happosai attacked Shampoo with the instant pill.

"This is getting a little troublesome isn't it, Akane-san?" I scooped another spoonful of shaved ice before shoving it into my mouth.

"You're enjoying this a little too much." Akane scowled.

"AH! RANMA SWALLOWED IT!" the two of us looked up immediately, Akane in horror and me in amusement. I covered up a laugh as Akane jumped on Ranma's back to prevent Shampoo from being the first he sees, but then seeing Akane instead.

After seeing Ranma mess with Akane, I decided to take pity on her. "Ranma knock it off! You're scaring Akane-san."

"How'd you know I didn't swallow it?" he turned to me in surprise.

"I've seen you eat nearly every day and night, I can tell when you swallowed or not," I said dryly. I actually can't tell! But he doesn't need to know! I mentally cackled in my own amusement.

"Ranma you jerk!" Akane roared before uprooting an umbrella and started swinging it at Ranma furiously.

"You're looking great Akane-san!" I cheered on the Tendo girl.

"Katsu you traitor!" Ranma shouted but accidentally swallowed the pill. "OLD HAG! ANTIDOTE…"

I slapped my leg laughing. I couldn't hold it back any longer, it's just too funny! Of course, Ranma wanted to hurry off and marry Cologne, but with much effort between Soun and the two current fiancées, they managed to wait out the instant pill and have terrified Ranma out cold.

"Katsuya-kun, could you help me with Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Of course, of course!" I stifled my chuckles as I heaved up Ranma on my back and carried him off to the vacation house with Akane. Ranma is surprisingly not that heavy. Since he's a martial artist, they tend to weigh a lot due to the muscle mass, but Ranma weighs as much as my cousin Ryu… and that's pretty freaking light!

"That wasn't funny Katsuya-kun!" Akane scolded me later as she tucked Ranma in and placed a wet towel over his head… Really, does he really need that? It's not like he's running a fever.

"You've got to admit it is funny Akane-san! It's not permanent so we can laugh at it! Let loose a little. You'll stay prettier that way."

She quickly flushed at my comments. "K-Katsuya-kun!"

I chuckled. "Just relax Akane-san. I was kidding! But you're still very cute!" While I don't want her to get any wrong ideas, I don't want her to maim me either. Who knew flirting is so much fun? I should do it more often sometime… just not with fan girls. Akane and the other taken girls are fine.

"I make Ranma mine!" Shampoo crashed into the room with a kettle and the pill in her hand, the arm band was worn over her right bicep.

I casually moved myself out of the way as she and Akane fought over the pill and Ranma. Just to be safe I put a hand over my mouth. At one point, Ranma was turned into a girl once again and the scuffle continues. Eventually, the fight lend to Akane swallowing the eternal love pill. I quickly grabbed the blindfold and tied it around her eyes. There is no way in hell I'm going to let her see me at this rate.

"Akane-san, keep this on okay? We don't want any accidents to happen right?" I patted her on the shoulder before helping her up. "Come on, we better tell Tendo-san and Saotome-san. Ranma are you just going to stand there?"

The chaos of the love pills continues with countless attempts from Happosai in trying to make Akane see him as the first and Soun attempting to make Ranma the first. I sat out for most of it… but Happosai was getting a bit out of hand, there were a few close calls where he nearly got Akane. Maybe I should start helping… even if she's just a fictional character; no one deserves to be forcibly made to love someone they don't. Oh my fucking Ra, what has this world done to me! I'm turning… sappy! ARGH!!!!

"Don't worry; it's just the day pill you've taken." Cologne said at the restaurant.

"That's a relief," Akane said with a sigh. I frowned with my arms crossed, I clearly remember Akane being the one that swallowed it… why did she say it's the day pill? While I was thinking to myself, Ranma has once again pissed off Akane and drove her away.

"Oh no! I mistaken! That's the eternal pill that Akane swallow!" Cologne said hurriedly.

"LUCKY!" Happosai shouted as he bounded out of the restaurant.

"Shit! Akane!" Ranma shouted as she tried to flee, but Shampoo grabs onto her and refuses to let go.

"Ranma! You can't go! I don't care if it's one day! But you will be Shampoo's!"

"It wouldn't matter at the end of the day! Shampoo let go!" Ranma snapped.

I glanced back out; Happosai is starting to disappear… I'm getting a bit worried. "Hey Ranma, I'm going to run ahead and see if I can do anything." I said before running out trying to find the little creep. I made halfway though the beach before I was breathing heavily again. Running on sand is much different compared to running on pavement.

By the time I made it to the rocks, Akane was shoved into the water by Ranma in an attempt to block her from seeing Happosai and P-chan was standing at the edge. Crap, Akane can't swim. I hurried and jumped off the edge to haul Akane out of the water. I've nearly drowned once before and let me tell you one thing… it is not a nice feeling!

"Akane-san are you okay?" I coughed after hauling her back up.

"Katsu!" Ranma's horrified voice called to me.

"What? I…" My eyes widened in horror. Shit, I didn't notice what I just did. I glanced down; Akane hasn't looked at me yet. I quickly placed my hands over her eyes. "SAFE!" I shouted in a panic.

"Katsu you're a complete idiot do you know that!?" Ranma snapped furiously.

"Don't you think I know already dumb ass!?" I retorted furiously, not caring if it was rude for a change. "At least she didn't look at me yet!"

"Ranma! Swallow this!" Shampoo shouted before tossing the day pill at her. Ranma ducked and the pill bounced of his head and flew into MY MOUTH! I swallowed out of surprise and quickly put my hands to my mouth and quickly looked away, but I already saw Shampoo!

"Shit! Shampoo give me the hot water!" I heard Ranma say before I heard the splashing of hot water. "Akane, I can't let Happosai ruin the rest of your life and Katsu just swallowed the day pill, both of you would be making a huge mistake if you saw each other, so please look at me."

"Ranma… In your dreams!" I could hear the loud slap and Ranma was plowed to the ground. "I coughed out the pill dummy! Who needs these stupid pills?" I could hear Happosai's anguish cry at a distance when she threw the pill.

"Stupid boy swallowed Shampoo's pill for Ranma!" Shampoo whined furiously. WHAT!? She's blaming me for… hey… I'm not in love with her! I swallowed the pill and I'm still not in love with her! Girls have no affect even though I'm a guy! NICE! Which means… hehe…

I turned around and grasped onto her hands. "Oh Shampoo, what cruel words my love."

"EH!?" Ranma and Akane shouted simultaneously in surprise.

"W-wait stupid boy!" Shampoo stuttered and backed away, I continued forward trying my hardest to hold my laugh back as I do this.

"Why are you running my love? Can't you see how it's destiny and that we're made for one another?" I whispered huskily. And caught her by the chin as I said so.

"Ranma do something!" Akane said.

I couldn't help myself and started giggling. "BWAHAHA!! I got you guys good!" I stepped back and hugged my sides laughing.

"But you swallowed it!" Shampoo pointed to me accusingly.

I shrugged. "Maybe it's expired." I reasoned.

"Or you're gay!" Shampoo accused me.

My eye twitched. "I'm not gay! Stop trying to uke me!" I snapped. The next thing I knew, Ryouga was dragged in front of my by Shampoo… hey didn't he turn into P-chan earlier? Or did he manage to get some hot water?

"Shampoo! That's dirty!" Akane snapped.

"What exactly is supposed to happen?" Ryouga asked, completely puzzled by the whole situation.

"Happosai got his hands on some love pills and Shampoo here just accidentally made me swallow one. They think I'm gay." I grumbled.

Ryouga raised an eyebrow at my comment and glanced back to Shampoo with a scowl. "You were trying to make Katsuya fall in love with me?"

Shampoo laughed sheepishly. "Stupid boy no fall in love with Shampoo! Shampoo want to know if stupid boy is gay boy."

"I'm not gay damn it!" I grumbled under my breath.

Ranma laughed loudly as he swung an arm over my shoulder in a friendly manner. "Who cares! It doesn't work! This whole crisis is officially over!"

"Heh, I guess you're right Ran…ma…" I blinked rapidly and raised a hand to my chest. What's this feeling?

"Katsuya-kun? Why are you looking at Ranma like that?" Akane asked.

"Because…" my face flushed. What's going on? "Ranma?" I whispered.

"What?" Ranma turned with a handsome smile… handsome?

I couldn't control myself; my arm instinctively snuck around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "EH!? Katsu! Knock it off! Stop playing around!" Ranma's voice trembled. I giggled before completely blacking out.

o.o.o.o.o

The next when I was awake I was tied up again a pole. Ranma was hiding behind Akane and Shampoo and Ryouga was standing right in front of me with his arms crossed. I frown and tested my bindings.

"Oi, is it necessary to tie me up like this? Ranma, let me go!"

"It's for your own good Katsuya," I glanced over to Ryouga.

"What the heck are you talking about?" I continued to struggle. "Come on, I'm losing blood circulation to my arms."

"Just a little longer and the pill is going to wear off soon Katsuya-kun." Akane said.

I paused. "Pill? What pill?"

"The love pill you swallowed yesterday. It's already twenty-four hours; you guys can let him go already." Nabiki said dryly.

"Are you sure?" Ranma squeaked from behind.

"What is going on?! Can someone please tell me?" I begged as Ryouga untied me.

"Why don't you guys let me handle Shinochi?" I don't like that smile.

"Oi Ranma—" he disappeared in a trail of dust… "Um… ok…What happened?"

"Katsuya-kun, you really don't remember anything?" Akane asked.

"I told you! I don't know what's going on! So someone tell me!" I sighed exasperatedly.

Nabiki chuckled. "I'll show you these free of charge, but you'll have to pay for the rest of the information."

I blinked as I took that stack of pictures from Nabiki. "What's this?" I asked before glancing at the first one… "EH!? WHAT THE HECK!?" My eyes widened in horror… these pictures… were of me hugging Ranma and trying to feed, both male and female version of him. Then there were pictures of me dragging him off to do odd activities. With every picture, Ranma looks more and more like the times he sees a cat. As I flipped through more of the pictures, the more horrified I got… but there is one good point. I didn't get changed back the whole time.

"The pill started working after a while and… ehe…" Akane laughed sheepishly.

I did the only thing I could do at that moment… pretend to faint and go to sleep. When I wake up this mess will be gone. Hopefully…

o.o.o.o.o

For the next week, my life was hell. The fan girls wouldn't leave me alone; Nabiki sold the pictures to the highest bidders. Ranma avoided me with every chance he got. However, he still crashed into my apartment daily. Eventually I just got fed up with the whole thing and decided to talk it over with Ranma during one of the nights he crashed in.

"AH! Sorry for intruding! BYE!" I grabbed onto his braid and pulled him back. I was waiting at the futon the whole time.

"Ranma, we need to talk." I said not letting go of his hair. "If you're my friend, you will listen!" I am not giving him any leeway this time. The situation is getting out of hand.

He finally calmed down long enough before I let go of his hair. "Okay, I'm listening."

I took a deep breath. "Do you remember the dumpling incident?"

He flushed. "What the hell Katsu!? I thought we're talking about that… other thing…"

"I'm getting to there you dumb ass!" I snapped. It's getting easier and easier to be rude to him for some reason. "But you do remember that other incident did you not?" He nodded stiffly. "I didn't like you then; I even threaten to castrate you. What made you think I would like you that way after the stupid pill you moron! I'm getting fucking annoyed with the damn fan girls stalking me! I'm sick of Shampoo calling me gay boy! And most of all!" I poked at his nose childishly. "I'm sick of you thinking I'm gay and after you. I should be the one asking if _you're_ the gay boy."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING GAY!?" he roared furiously.

"Then who are you to call me gay?" I asked.

"I never called you that!"

"You avoided me for a week." I responded dryly.

"Fine… you win…" he grumbled.

"So no more avoiding me?" I asked again.

"No more avoiding."

"Good, then let's have dinner. I'm starving from waiting for you to drop by."

He sweat dropped. "That's it?"

"What the hell more do you want? I'm hungry!" I said flicking his forehead before storming off to the kitchen to get the food.

o.o.o.o.o

"Slack off, slack off, I love to slack off!" I sang to a random melody as I bladed around the corner and jumped slide the bench in my turn. I'm practicing my speed and jumps around Nerima… instead of translating the movie scripts.

"Shinochi!" I quickly t-break and did a swift U-turn.

"Sempai!" I said when I spotted Nabiki.

"Rare to see you around this area. Don't you have work with Shimizu?"

"He gives lousy pay. I quit" I shrugged. "Did you go somewhere today sempai?" I grinned. "A date maybe?"

She chuckled. "Not today Shinochi. You didn't answer my question yet."

"Just a light work out to improve my health a little. Tofu sensei been giving me some tips in improving."

"And those things on your feet?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Just a little invention. Since jogging hurts my joints. This one eases the pressure by sliding instead of pounding up and down off the ground. Of course, it's also a good transportation mode." I sound like a commercial…

"Is that so?" She said, not really caring with the way I ranted… hmm, maybe she thinks is sounds nerdy. Nice… "Oh before I forget, Kasumi 'nee-chan wants you over for dinner."

I blinked. "I really shouldn't intrude."

Nabiki waved it off. "Kasumi 'nee-chan insists."

"Hmm…" I really don't want to impose on them. Knowing their financial situation, they shouldn't really invite more guests to the house. Come to think of it, I've been a rude guest. I haven't bought any gifts to the house… Man, mom isn't going to be happy if I didn't at least buy fruits. "Sure, I'll be there, does your family like sashimi by any chance?"

She blinked. "Who doesn't?"

"Nothing!" I waved it off. "Is Ranma and Saotome-san home?"

"When aren't they?"

"Heh, I guess that was a stupid question to ask. Oh well, this mean I'll just have to buy more sashimi. I'll drag Ranma to help me carry it then." She seemed surprised that I was buying the stuff. "Just think of it as a gift for intruding on your family so often."

Nabiki laughed. "Now if only Ranma and his father would think the same way." She shook her head in amusement. "Come on; better go find Ranma before Akane mallets him to the next district again."

_CRACK_

I blinked at the noise as we turned around the corner. Happosai was wailing and pointing at Cologne for some reason and the Amazon elder doesn't seem to be paying attention to him. However, that wasn't what caught my attention. On the floor… was the Nanban Mirror. I didn't even hear Nabiki talk to the others when I rolled up to the broken mirror and picked up the pieces. I knew I wasn't looking very hard for a way back, since there were so many things interrupting me all at once… still… I found it… But a lot of fat fuck it would do for me now! It's fucking broken! There goes my ticket home.

"Is there a reason you look like something close to you just died?" Nabiki's dry voice made me grin weakly back at her.

"It's nothing sempai… nothing at all…" I said before carefully picking up the mirror. "Um… do you mind if I have this? I have a hobby in collecting broken mirror shards. This one would look beautiful with the rest."

"Have it, it's useless to me anyway." Happosai snorted.

"That's not something for you to give away Happi!" snapped Cologne.

"It's mine and I can do whatever I want with it woman!" the two promptly got into another fight.

"What kind of hobby is mirror shard collecting gay boy?" Shampoo asked.

"This of it as a more dangerous version of a jigsaw puzzle. With the exception that you can break up further if you get bored."

"Shinochi, didn't you say you were going to get sashimi?" Nabiki interrupted.

"Right…"

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsuya-kun, you don't seem very well, the last few days. Is something bothering you?" Tofu sensei asked at my final chi point opening session.

"I'm fine, there's nothing wrong." I whispered from the bed I was lying on. I held the icepack to my head. "Tofu sensei… is my head supposed to hurt this much?"

"It should be the same as the rest of the other points. A good night's rest should be enough… but if it continues hurting, come back okay?"

"Yeah, sure…" I murmured as I curled up in the bed.

"Katsuya-kun, you'll feel better if you talked." He continued.

"I don't want to talk about it…" I curled up even further.

"Maybe tomorrow then?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Maybe… I need a nap…"

"Have a good rest then. I'll see you when you wake."

"Yeah… See you…" I closed my eyes and slipped into a dreamless slumber… I really wish I would at least dream… so I can see mom and brother again…

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Not sure should I feel bad for Katsu or not, but I am thoroughly amused by his misfortune!

Killua: Not much else to say FRI!


	5. Chapter 5

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"Who are you?" I said with caution and reached for my new weapon.

"Someone that's curious about your identity. You're not who you are pretending to be."

"I'm not hiding anything!" My eyes widened as the figure disappeared in front of me.

"Weak, slow, and what kind of a weapon is this!" I turned around, when did— "Very disappointing."

Fast… Much faster than Ranma and the others… Just who… who is this person?

**Chapter Five: The Mysterious, Dear Mother and Curse of Direction**

"Where am I!?" I wailed miserably leaning against some random tree… that I'm quite sure I passed at least three times by now. My stomach grumbled… I haven't eaten in two days already. "I better start hunting soon if I don't find my way back soon." I sighed and continued to stumble through the dark forest.

I now have all 128 chi points open and active; I've never felt so alive before! But the downside is… I can't seem to find my way around at all! I know it shouldn't be possible, but it really happened! I was going to school when it started. The streets suddenly looked the same; I couldn't find any of my usual landmarks for directions. Each turn I made only seems to make the whole situation worst. Before I knew it I was at the beach and then in this jungle.

"This is ridiculous! How is it possible that I can get this lost!?" I snapped furiously as I ripped through the greenery with my bare hands. "Man, I wish I had someone to blame!" I paused and laughed to myself. I'm starting to sound like Ryouga.

"Grr…" I froze at the barely audible growl. I turned and looked around quickly. I hope that wasn't what I heard, but I barely spotted it in the mess of greens.

"W-wolf…" I heard more growls. Wolves, I mentally corrected myself. Shit, what do I do!? I can't outrun them! And I can't go against them either! Heck! I can't even go against one! I backed away slowly… I can't do anything in this situation, wolves are scavenger, and even if I play dead they'll tear me to shreds. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" I choked out in a whisper. My chest felt heavy as if something was crushing it. "SOMEONE HELP!" I screamed out with my arms held out in front of me as they jumped.

"Katsuya!" I heard my name being screamed out before a series of whines and wails from the wolves followed. I didn't look up, still terrified of the whole ordeal. "Oi Katsuya, they're gone." A hand rested on my shoulder.

My whole body shook as I laughed pathetically. I felt my face getting wet from my tears. "I was so scared… I thought I was going to die."

"Katsuya, you're safe, stop crying."

"I want to go home," I curled up into a ball sobbing.

A strong hand grabbed onto the front of my shirt and hauled me off the ground. I was face to face with Ryouga. "Are you a man or what?! If you're so terrified, either you don't come out here all alone or you take martial arts lesson to defend yourself!"

I sniffled and tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, but I couldn't help it and started bawling. "Stop picking on me! I haven't eaten in two days, I'm tired and I'm completely lost! You're a fucking ass hole! I don't care if I sound like a fucking girl! I want to go home!"

He blinked in surprise at my outburst and slowly lowered me. "You're lost?"

"I can't find my way back. I lost my way home completely…"

"Is that all?" he sighed.

I blinked away my tears and stared at him. "What?"

"I thought you were better than that Katsuya." He crossed his arms.

"Shut up jack ass!" I punched him in the chest, but quickly regret it and pulled back my hand whimpering. "What the hell are you made of!?"

"Quit acting like a girl and be more of a man." I started laughing again, it's really not that funny, but I can't help but laugh anyway. "… I think you're probably scared out of your mind and not back to your senses yet." He reasoned to himself.

It was half an hour before I calmed down enough for Ryouga to drag me off to a clearing and set up camp. I was seated in front of the fire with a blanket wrapped around me. Even if it was summer, this place is cold during the night. I was so tired, I didn't even notice I dosed off. When I woke up, I was moving… no, carried.

"Ryouga-san?" my voice croaked.

He glanced back. "Finally awake? I swear you sleep like Ranma. I did everything in short of trying to kill you and you still wouldn't wake."

"Sorry," I mumbled and shifted my weight to let myself down. "I really wasn't feeling well, sorry for all the things I said last night," I bowed formally in an apology.

"You were shaken up pretty badly by the wolves, don't worry about it." Ryouga waved it off and shifted his backpack onto his back; he was holding it in his hand before in order to carry me.

"NO!" he became quiet. "I couldn't protect myself, I was weak. Let me repay you! I'll help you carry some of your stuff."

"But it's too heavy for you," he protested.

"Let me help damn it!" I snapped angrily, not knowing why I can't even hold my temper. "I want to be able to do something at least… I don't want to be useless."

He stared at me firmly for a moment before pulling his umbrella from its perch and held it out in front of me. "If you can pick this up, I'll let you carry it. If you can't, you'll stop complaining and we'll find our way back to Nerima." He stabbed the umbrella into the ground and stepped back with his arms crossed.

I stared at the thing for a moment before grasping my hands around the handle and yanked on it. It was definitely heavy, probably a little bit heavier than I am. I grunted loudly and continued to pull at it, until it toppled over and sent up a small dust storm. I coughed and quickly fanned away the cloud of dust. I glanced up at Ryouga; he was waiting patiently for me to give up. I gritted my teeth, damn it! I'm so useless! What use do I have in this damn world!? My health sucks, my physique is weak and I'm more trouble than actual help.

"Damn it," I whispered, my arms were pulsing from the strain, but I didn't let go.

"Are you done now?" Ryouga asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm done… just give me a moment." I murmured and closed my eyes.

I redirected my chi flow to my arms to relieve the stress on the muscles. I let out a relieved sigh as I felt the stress melting away. While I may be completely useless, at least I can somewhat speed up my recovery rate due to Tofu sensei, my body is now running as if I had 160 chi points due to the store chi. I felt the umbrella move, probably Ryouga got impatient and picked it up, but he didn't pull it away.

"Let's go Katsuya," he spoke.

"What about your…" I opened my eyes and blinked in surprise, he wasn't touching the umbrella. I was holding it an inch above the ground… "How?" Suddenly, the weight came back and the umbrella imbedded itself into the ground. I glared up at Ryouga. "You're messing with me! You pulled it up and let it go when I opened my eyes."

"I did no such thing, you picked it up yourself." Ryouga retorted.

"I can't do that dumb ass!" I snapped and heaved up the umbrella again out of anger. I stared at the umbrella in shock. The thing still feels like it weighs a ton, but I could swing it around with much ease. My arms are supposed to be tired, but they're not. So why… my eyes widen as my body suddenly lost all strength and I slumped to the ground like a rag doll.

"Katsuya!" Ryouga shouted and quickly caught the umbrella before it can crush me. He hauled me up by the shoulders. "What's the matter with you? Get up Katsuya!"

I tried opening my mouth to say something, but even that was a strain, but I'll at least get this last instruction out before I give up. "T-To-fu, s-sen-sei."

After that, no matter what Ryouga said or did, I couldn't respond to it. The most I could do was just keep my eyes open and blink. Sadly, Ryouga didn't pick up that fact so we can't even do the blink once as yes, blink twice as no for simple yes no questions. I was completely out of commission until the second day of Ryouga's wandering. I believe we managed to get back to civilization… though which part of Japan, I'm still a bit baffled, I can't seem to spot landmarks at all for some reason. During our mindless wandering, we found Ryouga's favorite weapon maker. While there, I asked Ryouga to help me buy a length of cloth, similar to the ones he's wearing on his forehead and some metal bars. Not exactly sure what I want to do yet, but it's too good of a chance to skip out on materials.

"Can you move now?" Ryouga asked.

"A little," I said at the restaurant. Both Ryouga and I are getting slightly tired of the soupy stew. Since I couldn't even chew, he just poured it down and rubbed my throat so my body would instinctively swallow. I'm lucky he didn't spill any and turned me back into a girl… Maybe my luck is changing? Better not push it.

"So do you have any idea to why you completely collapsed like that?" Ryouga asked after we were done with our meals he was nursing a cup of tea in his hand. Just so you know. I'm paying for the food. I still have my wallet and a good amount of money from my second translation.

"No clue, but I know one way in getting a large surge of energy."

Ryouga raised a brow. "And that is?"

"Here's your twelve layered chocolate cake with two scoops of caramel vanilla swirl ice cream and your espresso," said the waitress as she put down the tray of goodies. "My, I've never seen any young man at your age willingly eat this much sweets in public."

I shoved a fork full of the sugary mess into my mouth before responding. "There is no shame in loving sweets!"

"I'm sure dear, enjoy!" she said cheerfully before leaving us alone.

Ryouga stared at me. "Are you seriously going to eat all that?"

"What? You want some?" I said before picking up another fork and cut a piece for him. "It's good!"

"No thank you." Ryouga said as he edge away.

My eyes drooped and I gave him a dull look. "Don't tell me you think I'm gay too! What is with you people and calling me gay!? Maybe you guys are the gay ones that aren't even certain with your sexuality!" I pointed at him rudely with my fork.

"What is wrong with you?" Ryouga said not really out of irritation or anything, more like curiosity.

I shrugged. "I have no clue!" I said thoughtfully with another forkful of cake in my mouth. Yep, and being super rude is part of it.

"Katsu? Ryouga?!" I blinked and glanced over to the voice and spotted Ranma-chan. Hmm… or should I call him Ranko?

"Ranma what are you doing in Kyoto?" Ryouga asked. I bit back a laugh.

"It's Nerima you idiot!" Ranma said.

"Stop fighting and just sit down and join us. Waitress! Parfait!" I ordered Ranma's favorite dessert before he went on to telling us what happened the last few days I was gone. Apparently, Shampoo's sisters Lingling and Lunglung came by and caused some havoc, he gained two more unofficial fiancées. Kuno got possessed by a sword and Akane tried to kill him with her cooking. The usual chaos, I didn't miss much.

"So you've been traveling with Ryouga this whole week?" Ranma asked.

I blinked. "Week? It's only been four days."

"No it's been a week," Ranma insisted.

Shit, Ryouga and I must've jumped time zones and not notice. "Ranma, can you do me a favor and lead me to Tofu sensei's clinic?" I asked.

"Don't you know how to get there?" Ranma asked.

"Erm… about that…"

"Katsuya lost his sense of direction." Ryouga answered for me.

Ranma turned to stare at me for a moment. "WHAT!? What the hell are you staring at!?" I snapped irritably.

"You sure you're not a Hibiki?" Ranma asked.

"I'm not you faggot!" I snapped before my hands covered my mouth. "Sorry," I murmured.

"Maybe we should take you to Tofu sensei right now," Ranma said a bit uneasy.

"He's been cursing at me since he got his voice back." Ryouga added.

"Okay, you're going to Tofu-sensei."

o.o.o.o.o

"Hmm… I don't see anything physically wrong. If anything you seem more healthy than usual with a slight chi exhaustion. Tell me Katsuya-kun, what have you been doing the past week?" Ranma left shortly after Tofu sensei assured them that I'll be taken care of; it was running near the Tendo's dinner time. Ryouga of course, had gotten lost after he said he's heading towards the bathroom.

"That's the thing is, I was lost like Ryouga for during the whole time! I don't even know how I got into the amazons or jungle or whatever the hell I was in. Hey wait, you said chi exhaustion?" I blinked.

"Lost like Ryouga? Hm… Maybe…"

"Maybe what sensei?" I asked.

"I've been curious about Ryouga's sense of direction, or lack thereof and with you suddenly developing the same problem; I think it might be a chi fluctuation that's causing this problem."

I blinked. "In other words?"

"You didn't have directional problems before we opened your last three chi points correct?" I nodded. "It means there is probably someone in your family has a directional probably similar to Ryouga and it was repressed because your chi points were closed off. Without the chi from those points flowing through your body, you were able to judge distance and recognize your surroundings. So if we close them you should be fine. Since your other chi points are actually producing more chi than you actually use at the moment."

"I think I understand…" of course, I'm running his words through my head a few times trying to understand it before I forget what he just said… My memory still sucks.

"Closing it shouldn't be much of a problem, but I'm going to teach you how to open and close those points yourself, I might be wrong on the chi point, so if you disappear for a week again, you can do it yourself."

"Sure… I guess…" I said.

It took half an hour to learn how to open chi points and an hour to close, but it only took Tofu sensei two minutes to close the three points of chi. I sighed in relief as the unknown tension at the back of my head and eyes disappeared and the restrictive feeling at the chest left as well.

I gave a relaxed sigh and stretched happily. "Mmm… that felt nice."

"Don't recklessly open and close chi points, it can do more damage than good to you. If there's anything else wrong, just tell me." Tofu sensei said as he washed and dried his hands.

"What was that you said about chi exhaustion earlier?" I asked during my stretches.

"You exhausted it, I'm curious what did you do."

"I was just sending chi to relieve some stress on my muscles like you taught me."

His glasses glinted. "Katsuya-kun, were you doing something while you were doing that?"

"Well, I was trying to lift Ryouga's umbrella… oh…" I'm an idiot.

"Oh, indeed Katsuya-kun. I told you that you should ONLY do that when you're relaxed and not doing anything else. Especially not lifting heavy objects like Ryouga's umbrella. Since you have no physical training prior, your muscles can't handle the stress and the chi was continuously rushing to relieve the muscle, until your chi reserves were depleted. You probably couldn't move for a few days afterwards."

I sulked, he was completely correct. "Tofu sensei, is there a way to use chi as a substitute for physical strength?"

"It's not impossible, just difficult. The problem with that is that you need a large amount of chi in order to maintain a long fight and if you have a heavy weapon, it cuts down the time even more and waste more chi. It's a waste of chi if you use it without already having a base of strength."

"Base strength?"

"Think of it this way, you know those games where it tests your strength and docks a number?" I nodded. "What's your number?"

"75." I replied honestly.

He nodded. "That's you without any martial arts lesson or any specific training and conditioning for the body. Akane would dock at least 250 without much effort into her hits and Ranma would be about 500 if it's a casual hit. Now imagine Ranma using chi to boost his attacks, he can probably double in strength and hit 1000, while Akane can hit 500 if she learns how to use chi. In your case, it's really not worth it to waste you chi in that matter."

"I see…" I murmured with a frown. "What about speed? Can chi be utilized to help someone run faster?"

"As I said before it's a waste of energy and effort to be used in that matter. I wouldn't recommend training for those techniques until you build up a decent base for your skills and physique." He glanced at me with a speculating look. "Are you planning on taking up an interest martial arts Katsuya-kun?"

"Who me? No! Don't get me wrong! I don't intend to fight anyone… but the concepts are a bit interesting I guess." I smiled sheepishly.

"I'm quite sure they are. Why don't you go home and get some rest? You're probably still stiff from the chi exhaustion."

"Hmm… A hot bath would sound nice about now." I nodded to myself.

o.o.o.o.o

I sighed in exhaustion as I sank into my hot bath feeling the change of genders instantly. When I got home earlier, I found my apartment in a mess. The many scripts I was translating were all over the place as if a tornado came through… which might've been true, I don't doubt Ranma ceased crashing into my apartment during my absence. It took two hours to sort out the scripts for the respective movies and clean up the dust that accumulated over the week. I plunged myself into the water to balance out my lightheadedness from the heat, not even knowing my usual visitor had crashed in.

When I surfaced I only heard the ending of his words. "…I'm coming in!" I spluttered in panic and quickly climbed out of the tub, but slipped and crashed into the floor. "Katsu?"

The door creaked open; I pushed the floor to make my body slide across the floor to kick the door close. For once I was glad that I have a more westernized apartment. I winced as I got up in a hurry; my body is still stiff from the chi exhaustion. Now, the shower head, better turn back before Ranma-chan comes in.

"Katsu are you all right?" she quickly barged in turning my door into splinters… I mentally sighed, another thing to repair.

"You do know it's rude to barge into the bathroom when someone else is in it right?" I said dryly while wrapping a towel around my waist. I managed to spray myself just a second before he crashed in. "You're fixing my door."

When he finally left, I passed out on my futon finally resting for the first time in the whole week.

o.o.o.o.o

"KAAAAAAAATTTTSSSSSSSUUUUUUYYYYYAAAAAAA-KKKUUUUUUUNNNNN!" I didn't even have a chance to blink when Yamamoto plowed me over with an enthusiastic hug and swung my person around to the point I was too dizzy to even complain.

"You pervert! What are you doing to Katsuya-kun!?" Akane snapped and smashed her bag into Yamamoto's head.

Yamamoto recovered surprisingly quickly and adjusted his glasses to study Akane. "Katsuya-kun is a dear and important employee to my company! I would do no such thing to him!"

I sighed and shook my head in disbelief. "Akane-san let me introduce you to Kazuma Yamamoto-san. Yamamoto-san, this is a friend of mine, Akane Tendo-san."

"Employer?" Ranma asked.

"Don't ask," I muttered. The story is quite ridiculous and even I'm embarrassed to talk about it. You guys already know how we met, so we'll move along. "Yamamoto-san, is there a reason for you to assault me with your affection at my school?"

"You missed our lunch dates!" he whined.

"Lunch conferences," I corrected him when Ranma and Akane stared at me. "You don't need me there, I'm just the translator, you give me the piece, and I'll translate it and give it back to you."

"Come on Katsuya! Live a little! Come on the company is going to have a party tomorrow, why don't you bring a date with you? Eh?" he nudged me.

I sighed. "Yamamoto-san…"

"Oh come on!" he whined.

"I'll think about it," I murmured, he was getting awfully close.

"Katsuya-kun, I just remembered! Kasumi 'nee-chan wanted you to come over for dinner, come on!" Akane latched onto my hand and dragged me off in a hurry. Thank you Akane!

"Did Tendo-san really invite me to dinner or are you jealous?" I teased her as we walked back to Tendo residence.

"Katsumi 'nee-chan wouldn't mind you coming over for dinner anyway!" Akane snorted. "I just don't like that pervert! He shouldn't be molesting anyone at his age."

I chuckled. "He wasn't molesting anyone really… Hey, where did Ranma go?"

"Probably off with one of the hussies again!" she fumed. I mentally sighed; she has a one track mind.

Just as we stepped in the residence… I was plowed over… AGAIN, this time by Genma. "Ranma, we're leaving for training this instant!"

"But uncle Saotome that's not—" Akane tried to explain, but Genma ran out of the house, hauling me under on of his arms while carrying bags with the other.

"What the heck are you doing pops?!" Ranma-chan shouted as she kicked Genma in the face.

I hit the ground painfully. "Ow, Ranma, can you be gentler next time?" I groaned and crawled out of Genma's grasp. "And Saotome-san! Shouldn't you recognize your own son?"

"No time!" Genma hopped back up and went to grab Ranma-chan instead. "We have to get out before she gets here!"

Her? This is a very familiar scene… but I can't remember why. "Genma, I'll be coming to visit soon. Nodoka." I glanced back to see Nabiki reading from a post card.

Genma continued to panic as the rest of the family pressured him into telling them the whole story about Ranma's mother. I watched in amusement when a local restaurant employee came to pick up the plates when he screamed.

"I'm going to see my mother!" Ranma-chan snapped and turned to leave, I stepped out of her way from the door as she rushed past.

"Ranma wait!" Genma shouted and hurried after her.

I watched in amusement as the two scuffled at the genban and the door suddenly opened as Genma finish telling him about the seppuku. He gave a scream as he spotted his wife and darted to the koi pond in a hurry.

"Oh! You're that girl from before, nice to see you again." Nodoka said cheerfully.

"I'm going to help out Tendo-san with dinner," I whispered to Akane before quietly sneaking away. As much as I find this whole thing is amusing, it's still a bit rude to be staying for dinner without helping out a bit. "Need any help Tendo-san?"

"That would be delightful Katsu-kun; it seems that it's going to get festive with Ranma's mother here." She smiled warmly. Kasumi gives me such a fuzzy happy feeling, can't help but love her… then again, who doesn't love Kasumi?

Just as I walked out to the living room with the food… "RANMA! My manly son!" I strained to keep my balance and not spill Kasumi's wonderful cooking as she tackled me with a hug… Why is it that I either get attacked by a series of people or plowed over with hugs by them? "Excuse me madam?"

"Ranma! Can you not recognize your own mother?" she turned her teary eyes to me.

"But I'm—"

"Oh my, that's your mother Ranma? You look very much like her." Kasumi smiled brightly as she walked in with the rice cooker.

"What?" I said in bafflement.

"You're right Kasumi 'nee-chan, they do look alike." I glanced over to Nabiki and spotted her amused grin. My eye twitched when Genma quickly raised a wooden sign in agreement.

"Aunty Saotome, why don't we sit down for dinner while you bond with Ranma?" Even Akane is getting into this… Why me!? I was about to protest when Ranma-chan latched onto my arm and dragged me to sit next to her.

"Ranma-kun is going to sit with me right?" she said as she gave me a chilling glare. I laughed nervously as I sat down with a cold sweat. I get a feeling that she would stab or poke me (painfully) if I dare to do anything that seems unmanly in front of her mother.

"My, girls really don't leave you alone, do they Ranma?" Nodoka laughed cheerfully. "But where is your father?" The family froze and stared at me.

"Erm… Father went on a business trip. He's gathering information on new techniques." I said uncertainly as I glanced to the rest of the family.

"My and so polite!" Nodoka gushed. "Your father must have taught you well!" Nabiki nearly spat out her soup in laughter.

For the rest of dinner, Nodoka exchanged words with Akane and Ranma-chan. With Nabiki and Kasumi adding an interesting comment or two… but I wasn't really paying attention. I was busy reading Genma's signs when Nodoka wasn't looking. With each sign, I grow wearier. This man is impossible! When dinner was over I stood up immediately to help Kasumi despite the horror on the stupid panda's furry face.

"Ranma… dear, what are you doing?" Nodoka asked uncertainly.

"I'm helping Ten—" Ranma kicked my leg. "Kasumi-san with the dishes. It would be rude to make Kasumi-san work so hard on the meal and still have to take care of all the cleaning up herself… Why don't you help, Ranko-_chan_?" I smiled down at her mockingly.

"Why, Ranma is completely right! This is no job for a man! Ranko-chan, we'll do them together." Nodoka shouted and took the dishes out of my hands and pulled Ranma-chan up to help.

"Have fun _Ranko!_" I waved watching the three disappeared into the kitchen. I gave a tired sigh and turned to the rest of them. "What made you people think it's a good idea to make me pretend to be Ranma?" I hissed.

"But Shinochi, you look so much like Ranma," Nabiki smirked.

"Not helping sempai," I retorted.

"Actually," Akane interrupted. "Nee-chan has a point there. You and Ranma can pass off as brothers."

"Akane-san, you too?" I sighed dejectedly.

Genma jumped and held me by the shoulders before pulling out a sign. "Please do this and we'll forever be indebt to you!"

"Aren't you indebt to a long list of people already?" I commented dryly.

"The schools must join! If you help us Shinochi, I'll give one of my daughters to you in marriage."

"WAIT, HOLD IT!" I said and backed away in panic. I don't need a fiancée!

"Hold what dear?" Nodoka asked as she reentered the room, but tripped and have her katana fly out of its scabbard and embedded itself in front of Genma. Ranma quickly caught her before she landed on her face.

"Ranma, why don't you help your mother?" Ranko hissed.

"Mother should be bonding with her future daughter-in-laws shouldn't she?" I responded before her face turned to horror.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Nodoka gushed.

"Ranma-kun? May I talk to you for a moment?" Kasumi asked.

"Of course, Kasumi-san. Excuse me mother." I said to Nodoka before following Kasumi to the kitchen. "Is there something you need help with Tendo-san?"

"Well… I know it's very sudden and that no one has even asked if you want to do this… but can you please help Ranma?" she grasped onto my hands gently.

"Tendo-san…" I blinked. Kasumi really cared for Ranma. Lucky bastard. "But…"

"You must have had a mother as well; don't you think it's a bit cruel to see their mother son relationship end because of a seppuku contract?"

"I…" I sighed. "Fine, I'll do it."

Kasumi smiled brightly. "Thank you Katsu-kun." She said before giving me a hug. I froze at first, but relaxed at the familiar feeling. Kasumi really feels like my mom.

"Oh, OH!" I stepped back away from Kasumi at the sound of Nodoka's voice. I glanced back and saw the scowling faces of Soun and Akane… Crap, I'm a dead cursed man.

"Yes mother?" I responded calmly.

"I-I'll be staying the night. Oh my son is so manly!" She gushed again before Kasumi happily lead her to Ranma and Genma's room.

Soun quickly grabbed me from the front of my shirt and lifted me up threateningly. "What do you think you were doing with my little girl? You didn't agree to help Ranma!"

I grabbed onto his hand and thrashed a bit, the collar was choking me. "Nothing! We weren't doing anything! I don't want to marry anyone yet! Tendo-san was just happy that I agreed to help Ranma! Now let go!" I thrashed a bit longer and accidentally kicked him in the crotch. He kneeled over in pain. "If you're so against me being here, I'm just going to leave!"

"Katsuya-kun!" Akane shouted and tried to make me stay.

"Good night Akane-san," I turned to leave and spotted Ranma. "Good night Ranma." I said before briskly walking out with my bag.

It wasn't until half a block later that Kasumi's disappointed look cross my mind. I slowed down my brisk walk to a dead stop. Damn it, curse this world and motherly characters! I sighed a placed a hand to my temple trying to rub away my on coming headache. Ranma better appreciate this, I thought morbidly as I walked back to the Tendos.

"Ranma! Where did Ranma go?" Nodoka's broken voice whispered as I walked near the living room.

"I'm here mother…" The room's occupants turned to me in surprise, but I was only looking at Kasumi. She smiled warmly and nodded gratefully as Nodoka once again strangles me with a hug.

o.o.o.o.o

I slept in the living room that night, since Ranma was playing the visiting Ranko Tendo, _Ranma_ is supposed to be a gentleman and lend her his room until she leaves. I slept like a log despite of the discomfort of sleeping at a stranger's house. When I woke I heard faint clicking noises, of course my eyes were still closed at the time. I sat up and nearly knocked Nabiki over in the process.

"Is there a reason why you're taking pictures of me at this ungodly hour?" I asked darkly. I really hate mornings. Hm… Nabiki isn't a morning person either.

"Your morning personality is ever so charming, Shinochi." She responded with dry sarcasm.

"Go to hell you icy bitch." I muttered under my breath as I got up.

"Bathroom is down the hall." She said almost cheerfully… A cheerful Nabiki… I should be scared… but it's too early to feel anything other than annoyance.

"Good morning Katsuya-kun," Akane greeted me along the way, but I ignored her and continued to the bathroom.

"Ranma," Kasumi said to me when she peeked out from the kitchen. Nodoka was clearly behind her.

"Yes, Kasumi-san?" I strained to keep myself with a polite tone when I want nothing more to bite the head off of anyone that dares mess with me before school or noon.

"I left some clean clothes for you in the hamper; you should take a shower before going to school. You'll feel better." She said sweetly.

"Sure," I muttered and continued to drag my lame morning ass to the bathroom. It wasn't until I pulled off my white shirt, that I realized the problem I had. The Tendo's bathroom door does not have a lock. Fuck, and my cold tolerance sucks ass. I was a not a happy aqua-transsexual.

"Ranko-chan, you should really be more ladylike," Nodoka commented.

"Leave her alone, she can eat whatever way she wants." I grumbled as I shoved Kasumi's wonderful cooking into my mouth. Panda Genma stared at me in horror while Ranma froze in place.

"Ranma, really, ladies shouldn't be so barbaric." Barbaric? HA! If she knew I was a girl, she'll flip.

"Just leave her alone, either she'll be girly or she won't it's her choice." I said before shoving another mouthful of food in. "Kasumi-san, another bowl please!"

"Of course Ranma," she said cheerfully as she took my bowl and refilled it. I glanced over to Nodoka and noticed a certain glint in her eyes… I don't want to know what this crazy Saotome Matriarch is planning.

"Ranko-chan, what do you think about Ranma?" she asked.

I only raised an eyebrow at Ranma's female form as she gushed. "Ranma-kun is so cool and awesome! He's the manliest man I've ever seen!" Vain much?

"Ranko-chan, you're exaggerating. I'm not _that_ awesome or cool." I responded with an amused grin.

She glared at me furiously. "I said you are and you are!"

"And why would you think of such a thing? Ranko-_chan_." I dragged on the endearment title.

"Why don't the two of you go on a date?" Nodoka chirped cheerfully. For once, Ranma and I shared the same thoughts.

"What!?" we shouted out at the same time.

"A date!" Nodoka gushed.

"The romantic tension is just dripping off the two of you." Nabiki drawled in amusement. Damn you fucking bitch!

"Then it's settled! Ranko will go on a date with Ranma after school ends today!" My life is hell…

o.o.o.o.o

"YOU APPRENTICE SORCERER!" No… gods no!!! I glanced up from my set of incomplete scripts and spotted Kuno at the classroom door. "I will not allow you to date the pigtailed goddess! Not under my watch!"

My classmates turned to me in surprise, specifically the girls. "KYA!!! Katsuya-kun really does love Ranma!"

"Oh man, I never thought Shinochi was a queer." Muttered the male population.

"What did I ever do to you?" I glared up at the ceiling. I'm a Buddhist… but I have this habit of cursing the gods or deities of other religions… Not a healthy one… or an ethically correct one either.

"En Garde!" He shouted and thrust his bokken at me.

I stumbled out of my seat and ducked the no doubt hazardous attack to my being. His bokken impaled into the wall behind me. "I don't even have a weapon!" I protested as he pulled out his weapon and went at me again.

"Nonsense! You have your sorcery! None of your lies would make me release my bokken of justice!" Justice? Did he just step out of those American comics? I tripped ungracefully. "An opening!"

I turned and spotted something sticking out of his open samurai garbs. I grabbed it and snapped it open to catch the bokken before it hit. I was fully expecting it to break from the pressure, but oddly it held quite well. What am I talking about you might ask? Kuno's prized fan with the Japanese flag of the rising sun. The room was suddenly very quiet, Kuno was stunned,and_ I_ was stunned! However, before Kuno was able to snap out of the shock of this weak little lower classman catching his wooden blade, I snapped the fan close, grabbed the other end firmly and pulled him forward. I raised a foot and landed it in his crotch before twisting the weapon out of it hand and pulled him forward even further. He wailed in pain when I kicked him harder and shoved him away from me.

I stared at the crumpled Kuno in shock. I knocked him down! Well, not honorably, but still! I knocked him down! Thank you Chinese kung-fu movies! A low whistle distracted me from Kuno's downed body. "Not bad Shinochi," Nabiki grinned as she strode in to haul Kuno's huddled form out. "Don't forget your date; Aunty Nodoka is looking quite forward to Ranma's date."

"What!? Ranma and Katsuya are dating!?" I tossed the bokken aside in irritation as I stood up and left the room. I hid at the roof huddled in the corner that most people wouldn't look at, but luck is against me. I was found.

"What's this I hear about you dating Ran-chan?" Ukyo hauled me up by the collar of my shirt. "Aren't the girls in class enough for you!?"

"Useless boy trying to steal airen from us!?" Shampoo shouted angrily.

"It's not my idea!" I flailed my arms in protest. They cornered me for an answer. "Ranma's mother's in town and Kasumi-san asked me to pretend to be Ranma until she's gone!"

"Why?" Their eyes narrowed.

"Ranma has a seppuku contract with his mother, if she thought he was unmanly, she would force him and his father to commit seppuku. His mother thinks I'm Ranma and Ranma's girl form as Akane's cousin." I said not wanting them to kick my sorry ass… I really need to find a way to defend myself.

"And… she's making Ranma date himself…" Ukyo commented as she released my collar. Crazy violent women. Akane isn't the only one; the other fiancées are just as violent and crazy. Oh well, at least the girl I'm dealing with tonight, isn't a girl at all.

o.o.o.o.o

"Is it necessary to spend an hour to prepare Ranko? It's just a silly little outing." I grumbled in irritation. Using Ranma's alias, since his mother was still in the house.

Genma's panda response on his board was. "My poor son!"

"Why did your braid your hair Ranma-kun?" Soun asked as he glanced at me curiously.

"To play my role better," I responded dryly and tugged at the black dress shirt I had on. I stopped by my apartment for a change of clothes before coming back. As much as I don't care for the date, going out in a school uniform is just no fun.

"Okay! She's ready!" Nodoka shouted happily. Akane thundered down the stairs moments later giggling her head off.

"I feel sorry for Ranko already," I murmured and walked over to the stairs waiting for them to come down.

Nabiki and Kasumi came down moments later each with an amused and joyful smile respectively. Nodoka held onto Ranko's hand as she led her down the stairs… Is she wearing heels? Oh my… I feel sorry for Ranma. The poor guy was stuck in a white sundress with her hair in a loose ponytail and a light touch of make up.

"Very ladylike Ranko-chan," I commented with a smirk. If glares were deadly I would be pierced by a hundred or so daggers from Ranma's one look.

"I'm going to kill you after this," she hissed when she moved to give me a hug.

"Ready to go?" I asked before grabbing her hand and walking out. Once we were about ten blocks away from the residence, we threw off each other's hands and made a large gap from each other as we walked. "They're not expecting us back for about 3 hours or more, what do you want to do?"

She froze before walking a bit closer. "Shit, we're being followed!" she hissed.

"Can you tell who?" I asked exasperatedly.

"Can't tell," she responded.

"Great," I muttered and glanced around. I spotted a theatre. "Come on," I grabbed onto her hand and dragged her to the theatre. "A movie can kill a few hours and if your mother is watching she'll think it's romantic or some other nonsense women think about." I'm serious, I have no idea what runs through the mind of a normal girl.

Ironically, it's a foreign film theatre with dubs… the same dubs I translated. The sappy and bored out of your mind movies were all taken by lovesick couples. We ended up watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with a room filled with parents and kids. It's loud so we can talk freely without worrying about being over heard. Ranma was enjoying the whole movie, from the misfortune of the spoiled kids to the wonderland of sweets… I think it's more of the sweets.

"Aw man, I wish there's a chocolate waterfall! That would be heaven!" Ranma said in delight as we walked out of the theatre.

"Hm… well, it's not impossible to make…" oh not the eyes! I sighed as Ranma's puppy eyes got me. When he turns back male, I'm going to give him a stern talking to… but for the moment, we went to the convenience store to buy equipment and a lot of chocolate. We had a little chocolate fondue picnic, with Ranma eating most of the sweets. I have a low sugar tolerance… which means I get sugar highs quite easily.

"How do you know how to make this?" Ranma squealed in delight as she shoved another chocolate covered marshmallow into her mouth.

"My sister and father have a major sweet tooth." I said as I took a sip of the lukewarm green tea… I would prefer a hotter cup, but I don't want to accidentally turn back. I guess Ranma does look kind of cute when she's eating sweets.

"My dark prince!" I nearly spat out my drink in surprise of the voice.

"Kodachi." What the hell is this crazy bitch doing here?!

"What are you doing with this harlot!?" she turned to Ranma. "How dare you steal my dark prince from me!?" she snorts in disgust. "And your table manners are horrid. En Garde!"

She pulled out a ribbon and snapped at Ranma, but before it manages to reach Ranma a bonbori flew out from the shadows and smashed against Kodachi's head. Shampoo? I thought and glanced at the shadows, but saw no one, the next thing I knew Kodachi disappeared too.

"Hm? Did something happen?" Ranma asked clueless to what happened while she was gorging.

"Nothing," I wonder did I imagine that whole thing. I shrugged and picked up and napkin to give to Ranma. Her face was covered with chocolate and whip cream.

The rest of the date was uneventful, but the feeling of being watched is still very strong and irking. By the time I escorted Ranma back to the Tendo residence. Nodoka was more than please with the performance. Later I found out that not only the Tendos and Saotomes were following and watching, Nekohaten, Ryouga and Ukyo were too… but I had an odd feeling that they weren't the only one.

Later that same night, "Kasumi-san, I would love to stay the night, but I need to check on my apartment." I said truthfully. "I'll be back in the morning before Nodoka-san wakes up."

When I went back to the apartment, the first thing I did was dig up the material I had Ryouga help me buy during our lost trip. I have an idea of what I want for a weapon and quickly went about to making it… I might have to get a professional to look it over later, but I want to see if it works the way I want it first.

"Interesting choice of weapon… Albeit a bit feminine."

I turned to my window in surprise. "Who are you?" I asked cautiously and reached for my new weapon.

The dark figure was small, even when sitting at my window sill, but I still couldn't see this stranger's face. However, from the voice, I could tell it's a girl. "I am someone that's curious about your identity. You're not who you are pretending to be."

What do you know? I wanted to give a wise ass retort, but instead. "I'm not hiding anything." My eyes widened when she disappeared from the window sill at the blink of an eye.

"Weak, slow, and what kind of a weapon is this! A fan?" I turned around, when did— "Very disappointing." She's fast, much faster than anyone I've seen here. But who is she? I don't recall any character in Ranma's world that has this sort of speed.

"May I ask what are you doing in my apartment?" I stood still and kept an eye on her as she scanned over my handy work of the fan.

"I've told you already, I'm curious to why you're pretending to be Ranma... and yet you share his scent."

"Pardon?" I asked. What does she mean share scent… and what scent? Is she a dog or something? Maybe she's another Ranma's fiancée? "What purpose do you have with Ranma?"

She snapped the fan close and handed it back to me, the darkness still hid her features. "Ranma is the son of my charge; in turn, he becomes my new responsibility when his mother dies."

I blinked. "You're a bodyguard?"

"You can call it that if you wish." She responded. "However, this protection is only towards the blood of Nodoka and the blood of Ranma. That fool of a father of his could die for all I care. Now," she caught me by the chin and pulled me for closer inspection. Her hands were bandaged and the bandages continue under her sleeve and probably further up her arm. "While you may share the scent of Ranma, it's only half and that girl you were with had Ranma's full scent. It's almost as if you're Ranma's child!"

What nonsense is this crazy woman spouting? "I'm his age! How would that be possible!?"

"Maybe not," she released my chin. "But it's more likely that girl is Ranma… very interesting. What is your name boy?"

I glanced at her suspiciously, "Katsuya Shinochi."

"Shinochi… hmm…" she crossed her arms and pondered. "That name isn't part of Rinrin or Daidai's families…" she muttered to herself. Rinrin? Daidai? What nutcase gave their kids such crappy names?

"And your name?" I asked. She didn't answer and quickly left through the window. "Hey wait! I still have questions!" She was gone when I looked out my window. I guess I'll just have to wait and see if she'll come back again… So tired… I'll take a nice hot bath and soak tomorrow morning when I wake, but for now, I just want sleep…

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: YAY new chapter done! And as a added bonus, a short Omake!

**Omake**

"Akane, be reasonable!" Ranma sighed as he dodged yet another one of Akane's fits of rage.

"You're picking on P-chan again!" snapped Akane.

"I'm not picking on him! The stupid thing probably got lost!" he retorted.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I!?" a voice shouted from outside.

"Oh, it must be Ryouga-kun," Akane said.

Ranma blinked and glanced at P-chan for a second before kicking a bucket of cold water over the wall. "WHERE IS THIS COLD WATER COMING FROM!? DOES SOMEONE HATE ME!?" He glanced over to P-chan again curiously, but the pig only glared at him. It turned out it was their new classmate Katsuya Shinochi that got the blunt of the bucket and drenched from head to toe.

o.o.o.o.o

Koganei: Very short, but it does clear up one little detail, be sure to check for Omakes in the future! FRI!


	6. Chapter 6

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

Ranma's mother, Nodoka Saotome, left the next day after the troublesome date and her mysterious bodyguard hadn't appeared when she left either. I didn't tell Ranma or anyone about her, no need to worry him if it's not important. She didn't seem like she was going to tell Nodoka this little secret role play we did… Or I can be too trusting… What harm can it bring? Sadly, those are famous last words of many.

**Chapter Six: The Blind Guardian**

"Thank you for another job well done Katsuya!" Yamamoto shouted in his usual childish glee when I handed him the latest batch of translations. It took twenty minutes before he was willing to let me go… I'm sure this man would become a very psychotic and affectionate grandfather in the future.

"Leaving so soon Katsuya-san?" Midorita the security guard chuckled in amusement as I walked out from the building. After the initial week or two, he eventually got over the fact I use my blades as transportation and stopped calling me a hooligan.

"Very funny Midori-san," I said dryly, but with a grin.

"Have a safe trip home Katsuya-san," he waved as I rolled out of the building in my blades.

It was only a day since Nodoka left, but everyone had fallen back into their usual routines without fail. I'm curious to how they can be so carefree and not even bother thinking of a way to remedy the situation if Nodoka was to return… I hope they're not planning on hauling my ass back to play Ranma again. I skidded over one of the benches in the park before I was pelted by something at my head. I nearly fell flat on my face if I didn't manage to twist my body to fall on my butt… And let me tell you… IT HURTS LIKE A BITCH!

"Very graceful I must say," a familiar voice drawled.

"YOU!" I said in surprise when I looked up.

"Eloquent with words too I see." She said as she jumped down from the tree… Tree hugger, I thought absently.

When she landed, I finally got a clear view of her. She was surprisingly young, I would've thought she would be older since she's a bodyguard, but then again, I can't really judge martial artists by their age... or height. With the sophisticated style she's dressed in, I wouldn't even think she was a martial artist at all… though the flames on her long black jacket is a bit arrogant.

"Shouldn't you be guarding Nodoka-san?" I asked curiously as I crawled back onto my feet and clapped the dust off my clothes.

"No-chan can take care of herself for a few hours."

"No-chan…" I murmured before chuckling sheepishly. "Isn't that a bit rude to say to someone older than you?"

"Older?" she smiled wistfully. I raised an eyebrow curiously, but she said nothing else to continue the conversation in that direction.

"So why are you here?" I asked. "You haven't even told me your name."

"Sorry, allow me to introduce myself," she bowed politely. "My name is Shiyu; I'm Nodoka's family guardian from her birth family."

"A guardian?"

"I'm actually supposed to watch over No-chan and Ranma, but as you can see, Genma took Ranma for a period of time and I'm unable to fulfill my duty. My job is supposed to be carried out without my charges suspecting my existence until it's completely necessary."

Now… let's pause and recap on the situation. This strange little girl broke into my house a night earlier and gave me a quick interrogation and left without a word moments afterwards. Then, the next day, she stalks me at a park near dusk before pelting me with something at the head, by the way that really hurts. She then tells me a good amount of info about herself and what her role is… One may ask, what is she intending to do?

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked suspiciously.

She smiled. "So you're not just a pretty face."

"Why thank you," I grinned.

"But your vanity is still a bit strong…" She murmured shortly after my comment. "To make the tediously long story short, I want you to assist me in my guardian duty for Ranma."

I had to blink twice and attempted to clean my ear. "Pardon? I must have heard you wrong. You want ME to become Ranma's guardian?" Her face remain straight… crap, she's not joking. "You've got to be kidding with me Shiyu-san! I can barely defend myself! Much less Ranma! His enemies would put me six feet under before I can get six inches at them!"

"I said nothing about risking your life, just merely watch and try to prevent him from doing ridiculous actions like his worthless father." She crossed her arms. "As for your weaknesses in fighting abilities; I will be in charge of your training regime starting from today on."

"But I never agreed!" I protested, but whatever else I was about to say next died at my lips as something wrapped around my neck tightly.

Shiyu smiled ever so brightly with the handle of her whip gripped firmly in her hand. I never even saw her pull out the weapon. "I was not asking you to become Ranma's guardian. I am _telling _you to become Ranma's guardian."

I gripped onto the whip around my neck in an attempt to stop her from strangling me. "And you'll kill me if I don't agree?" I coughed.

"Now what fun would that be?" I should be very scared; her smile just got wider. "Now will you agree the peaceful way? Or the fun way?"

I sighed. "Fine, are there any rules to this job?" I do not have a death wish. I swear all females are insane. I myself included.

"Good," she released her whip's hold on my neck with a snap of her wrist. "First, you're not allowed to tell anyone about you being Ranma's guardian and second…" I felt a chill up my spine as she smiled again. "We will start your training immediately."

My eyes widened. "Wait, what!?"

Her whip disappeared in the blink of an eye and a bamboo stick was quickly replaced in its disappearance. "First lesson, evasion and coordination, you either dodge my attack or block it without harming yourself."

"Shit!" I shouted and I forced my legs to blade backwards, but still ended up having the bamboo swipe painfully over my torso.

I reached to the back of my belt and pulled out my two fans in an attempt to block her quick attacks. Unfortunately, as you know, my hand eye coordination is the worst in the world. I didn't manage to block any of her attacks. I can't even see when she moved! It went on for an hour when I finally collapsed from exhaustion with my back on the park's green lawn. I tripped when my blades hit the grass.

"Disappointing… but it's a start." I wanted to get a gun and shoot her so badly! What the fuck is with her aristocratic and pompous style of speech? "We'll continue your training again in two days' time. You can take yourself home now." As soon as she finished, she disappeared.

I laid there unmoving for a moment, staring up at the night sky. It's actually quite pretty. I haven't seen the stars since I came back with Ryouga. I nearly dozed off when something pelted me at my head. I winced as I picked up the item and opened it. "GO HOME!" was written in it.

So she hasn't left yet… I sighed and grunted as I got up. My arms and legs were pulsing from the stress of Shiyu's training. I glanced at my arms and noticed the redness was slowly turning to dark blue, almost purplish color. Of course, because of that, I got plenty of stares on my way back. Since I'm too sore to go faster than snail pace, it can't be helped. By the time I reached home, I could care less about food and hygiene when I passed out on my futon.

It wasn't until morning that I found a note from Ranma. Apparently, I came home later than usual and he came by via Akane's nightly mallet express, then promptly cleaned out my fridge. I sighed dejectedly; I was supposed to go grocery shopping before Shiyu attacked me. I guess it means I'll have to buy lunch today. I nearly screamed when I was taking a soak in the tub before heading off to school. I'm going to have to head over to Tofu sensei later for some bruising medication that is if he has them. This is the one few times I wish Aunt Shanshan was here. She's always stocked with herbal medication that works wonders. Especially, after getting burns from Aunt Kyo's okonomiyaki lessons. I'm getting off topic again aren't I?

Well, most of the psychotic fan girls knew not to approach me before I reach the school after the last few weeks. However, it doesn't mean they leave me alone once I reached there. The moment I stepped into the classroom, I was bombarded by worried whines and gushing.

"OH! What happened to you Katsuya-kun?"

"Who did this to you?"

"Did you and Ranma decided to get kinky?"

"How could Ranma do such a thing to Katsuya-kun!?"

I never got a chance to insert a comment as they came to their own conclusion. I only sighed and gave up trying to tell them what happened and just went to my seat while they argued amongst themselves to what happened. I was so tired; I didn't even notice that I passed out on my desk in a light snore… Yes, I snore. I didn't even wake up when Ranma and Akane crashed into the room… Though, I would much rather wake up when they crashed in, instead of Ranma shaking me awake.

"Katsu! What happened? Who did this to you?" He asked.

"S-stop!" I hissed in pain and pulled away from his grip. Akane shoved him aside and gently pulled back my sleeves and found the bruises.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

"It's nothing," I murmured and pulled my arm back. Now, I'm not doing my job as a guardian by not telling Ranma… I just don't want people to know, I got my ass kicked by a 14 year old girl. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry!? Those bruises looked like you were hit by something more than a fist!" Akane protested.

"Just leave it Akane-san!" I turned away as the teacher walked in and started the class. I didn't manage to stay awake in class either; I passed out again shortly after the teacher started to teach.

"…tsuya Shinochi!" A chalk piece pelted at my head. "If you find my class boring, you can stand in the halls!"

"Yes sir," I murmured tiredly and dragged my sorry ass outside. I promptly fell asleep again when I leaned against the wall.

o.o.o.o.o

When I woke up, I wasn't standing in the halls anymore, but slumbering comfortably on the infirmary bed. I blinked when I realized there were bandages all over my body.

"Hey sugar, how you feeling?" I blinked and glanced up to Ukyo's voice.

"A bit more refreshed… why am I in here Ukyo-san?"

"AH!! You've been all entranced by that foul apprentice sorcerer!" Kuno's voice ran pass the infirmary door as an angry mob quickly stormed after him.

"Do I want to know what I unknowingly did to him?" I asked dryly.

Ukyo chuckled. "Your fan club decided that it was Kuno that gave you those injuries and decided to put him to justice."

"I see…" If I was less sore, I would probably find the whole thing quite amusing and laughing until my sides hurts… but since they're hurting already, I better not aggravate it. "Um… Kuonji-san…"

"Yes sugar?" she asked as she cooked an okonomiyaki on her portable grill.

"How did I get here?" I asked.

"Ran-chan got worried when you were sent out, so he caused a fuss for the teacher to send him out, only to find you dead asleep on your feet. He dropped you off here and just left a while ago. Something about teaching Kuno a lesson."

I'm starting to feel bad for Kuno. "FOUL APPRENTICE! I SHALL GET REVENGE!" Maybe not that bad… I glanced over to the window where his voice came from and shook my head as he gave a high pitch scream.

"So Kuonji-san, why are you here?" I asked before an okonomiyaki got shoved into my mouth.

"I'm assuming you didn't make lunch in your state, so I'll make you some. I'm charging you for it of course." She chirped before pointing her spatula at me. "Don't get any funny thoughts about me. I'm doing this because you're a good friend of Ran-chan."

"I wouldn't dare," I said as I munched on her okonomiyaki.

"How do you like it?" she asked as she made another.

"Not bad," I said truthfully. "It reminds me of the ones my Aunt Kyo makes, hers is better though."

"What did you say?" she snarled with a red aura flaring behind her.

I flailed my arms frantically. "I'm not saying you're bad! My aunt just has more experience!" I mentally smacked myself in the face, the foot-in-mouth syndrome is quite strong in Nerima, and I think I'm falling into their train of stupidity.

She scowls, "So what's so much better about your aunt's okonomiyaki?" she grudgingly asked.

I shrugged. "Flavor, smell, appearance…"

She twitched. "Why don't you say everything you little twit!?"

I laughed sheepishly. "I can't because it tastes like her okonomiyaki! Just not up to her level yet."

"What do you mean?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Well…" I munched on the okonomiyaki for a better comparison. "It's like she mastered the technique already and you're still trying to get there." I shrugged again. "I really don't know how to describe it, but it still tastes very delicious."

Her face softened. "I can't be mad at you when you look so much like Ran-chan!" She smacked my back in good humor. "Well, eat up!" I nearly choked when she did that.

o.o.o.o.o

"What happened to you?" Tofu sensei asked curiously as he rubbed ointment onto my back. I bit back a scream of pain before slumping weakly onto the bed.

"Don't ask about it." I groaned as he rubbed away at my bruises, Aunt Shanshan said this method makes the body heal faster because the damaged blood cells isn't lingering and blocking the new blood cells from helping the body heal.

"Got into a fight didn't you?"

"More like getting attacked." I muttered and winced as he rubbed more ointment on.

"Attacked? Now who would want to attack you?" he asked again. "Okay, you're all done."

"Just don't ask…" I sighed as I sat up and pulled my shirt back on. "Sensei, would it be harmful to direct chi into your eyes?"

"Why do you ask?" he glanced back from the sink where he was washing his hands.

"I can't seem to get the hang of just sensing chi like the way you describe it… I was hoping to be able to see it."

Tofu shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend that, eyes are very delicate. If too much chi is directed at them, you'll go blind. It's better off if you just trained the way I've taught you."

"But… I really don't trust myself to walk around blindfolded. I'm accident prone." I said sheepishly.

"You've started chi control not too long ago, I'm not quite sure if your control is tightly knit enough that you won't damage yourself. Is it because of these wounds that you're rushing your chi training?"

"Uh… no?" Very persuasive, idiot.

Tofu chuckled and shook his head. "I won't pry into your business, but I really hope you won't try the method you're suggesting." He paused and sighed. "You're going to try the moment I'm gone aren't you?"

I laughed sheepishly. "I was hoping I try it with you around."

He sighed. "At least you have that much sense." He walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a set of needles.

"Um… Tofu sensei… what are the needles for?" I asked uncertainly.

He smiled brightly. "Needles can hit chi points more effectively than fingers."

"…" I stared at the long needles for a moment. "If you say so." I waited until he was ready before playing with my chi. It was still a bit difficult to call my chi at will, but it's getting there.

I closed my eyes in concentration. Now… slowly, easy… I let out a sigh of delight when I felt the waves of chi rising. I grasped a wisp of it and dragged it up higher and higher until it reached my head. I slowly opened my eyes as a steady stream flowed into it. At first everything was the same and Tofu was sitting in front of me watching with anticipation. Then it slowly changed. Everything became dark with white outlines until the only things standing out was the warm blue light coming from the outline of Tofu, green light from the trees, yellow from the electricity running through the building and white light from the sun's rays… There was this strange flicker of light behind the tree's light, but at a closer look that flicker was gone.

"Wow," I gasped.

"What do you see?" Tofu asked me calmly.

"Energy, sources of energy and—AH!" I screamed with my hands quickly covering my eyes and started thrashing in pain.

"Katsuya, don't move!" I faintly heard Tofu's command as two hands grabbed onto my arms to hold me down. I screamed again when I felt needles piercing into my arms and chest.

I don't know how long I was screaming, the pain was so unbearable. I was in a choking scream when Tofu placed a cold towel over my eyes. I was trying my hardest not to thrash about while Tofu was treating me, but after a while I can't even hear his voice anymore. I only felt his hands moving about, putting pressure at the familiar points on my body, opening and closing each point carefully, but quickly at the same time.

"Katsuya, can you hear me?" Tofu asked gently.

I was no longer screaming and the pain died down to a dull pulse. "I can hear you sensei," I whispered hoarsely and raised a hand to press down the cold towel against my eyes.

"Good," I heard him sigh in relief. "Now do you know why I didn't want you to try it?"

"Yes sir and I won't be stupid enough to try it again." At least not until I'm certain I have the chi control down. I just lost my concentration when I was talking to Tofu, other than that I was quite certain I would be able to keep up with it. I peeled off the towel and opened my eyes. "Tofu sensei…"

"Yes, Katsuya?"

"Please tell me it's night and there's a black out." I said as calmly as I was too exhausted for another screaming fit. I raised a hand in front of my face in an attempt to see it.

I felt two hands touch my face as I was pulled forward. Fingers pried my eyelids open further. I kept quiet while Tofu checked over my eyes. "You overloaded your eyes, but don't worry, your blindness should be temporary."

"For how long?" I asked, somewhat relieved by the fact that I'll get my vision back.

"I'm not exactly sure, but just so you don't damage your eyes even further, I suggest you keep your eyes bound and away from strong light until your vision come back." I heard him shift from his seat then shortly after, a soft cloth was bound over my eyes.

"That's great and all Tofu sensei, but I don't exactly know how to go blindly about my day. I've already told you how I don't trust myself to walk blindly without hurting myself."

"Well, you can—"

"Kasumi Tendo! How nice to see you!" CRAP! Kasumi's name is noted.

I quickly stumbled to my feet and crashed into the desk. "K-K-Kasumi-san!" I could hear the deluded voice from the dear doctor. I need to get out before he does more lasting harm to me.

"Katsuya, this way," I heard a faint hiss before something latched onto my arm and dragged me out of the clinic.

"Who are you?" I asked almost immediately when Tofu's deluded voice faded away in the distance.

The person snorted. "I'm offended that you've forgotten me already."

"Shiyu-san?" I said almost hesitantly. If it's not her, it's probably a rabid fan girl. If it is her, I should be worried. I'm in no condition for her psychotic training.

"No, it's the bloody pope." She said sarcastically. "Of course it's me you nitwit!" So she does have a sense of humor… though, why a British one, I'm curious.

"Sorry," I murmured.

"I had a feeling you'd do something foolish, but nothing that would lead to the lost of your vision. You should be named the king of fools for this stupid act." Getting scolded by a 13 year old girl... what a delightful blow to my pride. Can you hear the sarcasm dripping off my words?

"And what made you decide that you want to help me?" I asked as she led me through the streets. She ran me into a pole. I hissed in pain.

"You're going to become my assistant. You're not much use to me if you can't watch over Ranma. That doctor said your blindness is temporary. We'll just use that to our advantage."

"What to our advantage?" I really don't want to know, but I can't help but ask.

"We'll train your instincts while you're blind."

"In other words, you're going to run me into things until I can dodge them," I said dryly as she ran me into another pole. "Stop it!"

"Why don't you make me?" she mocked and promptly ran me into the corner of the street.

"I hate you," I hissed before shifting aside.

"Heh, you dodged one. That's a start."

I didn't talk for the rest of the way, concentrating on my chi to avoid whatever obstacle that Shiyu was going to run me into. I later found out, she was taking me home. That's nice of her… I guess.

"Can you take care of yourself in your own house?" she asked dryly.

"I'll be fine! Good night Shiyu-san."

"It's dusk," I can almost hear the smirk from her voice.

"Good day then. You can show yourself out as I cannot at the moment." I said almost rudely before stumbling around my apartment. I heard the door close, so I assumed she left as I've asked. I felt my way around until I reached the fridge, but when I opened it, I realized my other problem. I can't cook without my sight. I sighed in irritation and slammed the thing close.

Reluctantly I left the safety of a wall and tried to blindly go about the room to the bathroom. I ended up knocking some stuff over while I was attempting to get to the other side. Fortunately, it wasn't any glass, or I would end up cutting myself up. Eventually I've reached my drawer. Maybe it was a bit rash on my part to send Shiyu away so quickly… At least I could've asked her for help, even if she decides to give me extra training.

At least there's not much color in my clothing, it wouldn't matter if I picked something random. I ran my hands over the fabric anyway to at least try to remember which shirt or pants I'm grabbing. I'm going to take a shower early, just incase Ranma visits. I don't have my vision on my side to protect me. Since I couldn't see, I didn't bother with the light and felt my way around for the shower head. I managed to clean myself up, but not before slipping on my way to get my towel. I gave a loud curse as I crashed into the wall and landed on my chest. By the way, for guys that are curious, it hurts like a bitch when you land there as a chick.

"Can you go one moment without hurting yourself?" I froze stiff when I heard Shiyu's voice. "You're… a girl?"

o.o.o.o.o

"I was curious to why you smelled like a girl and a guy at the same time." She said after my short explanation of Jusenkyo, but left out the mirror and my appearance here.

"Smell?" I asked curiously. Is she a dog or something?

"Don't worry; it's just something I was trained for. The scent is very faint; I doubt a normal human can pick up the scent."

"Gee, thanks that's very reassuring; Nerima is filled with abnormal humans." I muttered before something click in my mind. "Why were you still here when I asked you to leave?"

"Were you dropped on your head as a babe?"

"Yes," I answered truthfully. Mom said our first house was cursed with the ghost of a vengeful woman. Something about it not liking me and shoving me off the bed. Not really sure the full story, but that's what she told me. "Your point?"

"Like I've said before. You'd be useless to me if you're damaged or dead. I was just making sure you didn't drown yourself." So it's just selfish purposes on her part. "What makes me curious now, is why haven't you revealed your curse to anyone as of yet?"

"Are you kidding me?" I turned to her voice in disbelief. "Ranma's fiancées would tear me apart if they found out I was a girl! I can barely get by as a guy already! Please don't make my life even harder by revealing my gender!"

"Hmm," she hummed in amusement; I wish I can rip out that smug tone. "I wouldn't bother revealing your gender problem. It's more of an advantage if people thought you were male."

"Thanks… I think." Not sure should I be offended or not. I shrugged. "Would you mind getting me a cup of cold water? I need to turn back, just in case Ranma drops by. My male form might not look much different from this form, but the voice he'll definitely notice." Seconds later, I felt a splash over my head and the immediate shift of gender change. A towel was dropped over my head seconds later and a gentle ruffling began… is she drying my hair? "Thank you." I murmured not really knowing what else I could say.

"Looks like you'll be pretty much useless until your vision comes back." I hear her shifting around. "Well, sucks to be you!" she laughed. I felt a vein throb at the side of my head. At least she's acting her age now, being a flat out ass hole instead of a snobbish one. "I'll pick you up tomorrow for training. Have fun adjusting!" A clatter of the doggy door signaled that she left.

I sighed in exhaustion as I lay down on my floor. Maybe I'll try making food later. So tired…

o.o.o.o.o

"KAAATSU!!!!" Why me?

I groaned painfully as I was shook awake. "Who is it?" I winced as the grip tightened over my bruised arms. "Ow! Easy! Easy!"

"Who did this to you Katsu?"

"I don't care, just let me sleep," I whined and try to go back to my hard floor and sleep.

Unfortunately, Ranma is the persistent type. "You don't have to protect this guy! He doesn't deserve it if he puts you in this state!"

I sighed in irritation and grabbed Ranma by the collar and dragged myself up. "Listen closely you little maggot! I'm in pain, I'm hungry, I'm tired and I'm fucking blind! Let me fucking sleep in peace! Or so help me I will do something we'll both regret!" I snarled before slumping down the ground with a light snore, slowly feeling the soothing effects of sleep.

"Wait! BLIND!?" I was hauled up again before my blindfold was yanked off, not that I can see even if he forced my eyes open.

"Please just let me sleep," I sniffled before I started crying. I have no shame when I'm tired. I'll break out in tears if I need to… Oddly, it only works when I'm exhausted. The rest of the other time, it takes great effort to even get a drop of tear.

"Sorry," Ranma murmured before releasing my arms. I passed out the second I hit the ground. I can really care less about what happens, at least until I get some proper rest.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Whee! Another chapter done! Don't leave yet! There's still an Omake!

**Omake: The Date**

"We're being followed," Ranko hissed. Katsuya whispered something to her before dragging her off somewhere.

"Idiot, shut up!" Ukyo shushed Ryouga and smashed his head down as they watched, but Ryouga was still giggling like a mad man. He was not the only one. Mousse was watching from a distance not too far away, also laughing his head off. The fact that Ranma was currently pretending to be a girl was very amusing to them. "I don't see what's so funny about this!"

"My son is so manly!" the two jumped when Nodoka appeared out of nowhere with binoculars watching the duo intently. "And Ranko-chan looks just stunning. The two of them make quite a pair, no?"

"Why don't we switch the engagement from Akane to Ranko?" Nabiki asked in amusement as she clicked away with her camera.

"WHAT!?" the three fiancées in the area shouted, but quickly covered their mouths and glanced back down at the two. Katsuya was shaking his head in amusement while Ranko piled more and more sweets into the basket he was holding.

"That might not be a bad idea! Ranko-chan is such a dear! I would love to doll her up!" Nodoka gushed.

"My dark prince!" Kodachi's voice caught everyone's attention. "What are you doing with this harlot!?"

"Aiya, it's crazy ribbon girl." Shampoo said.

"Oh ho, ho! My son is so manly! So many girls are after his heart!"

"Katsuya-kun can't fight," Akane whispered to the others. "And if Ranma starts fighting, Aunty Nodoka would think our fake Ranma is weak and unmanly!"

"I'll distract Nodoka!" Genma the panda raised a sign to them before darting off to his wife.

"Why should I help?" Mousse crossed his arms.

"Mousse help or Shampoo kill," the Amazon pulled out her bonbori and pointed at Mousse dangerously.

He reluctantly agreed. Working quickly, Shampoo tossed her bonbori at Ukyo, who spiked it down at Kodachi. Mousse used his hidden technique of chains to snatch Kodachi's unconscious body from the scene before Ryouga tied her up and handed her to Akane to hide.

"Oh? Where did that girl go?" Nodoka asked after she waved Genma's poor attempt in distracting her.

"Ranma told her he'll date her some other day." Everyone turned to Nabiki in surprise.

"I see!" Nodoka chirped. The rest sighed in relief. "Oh how cute!" she gushed again when Katsuya casually handed Ranko a napkin. "Such a gentleman!"

"Why doesn't he help her wipe her face too?" Ryouga and Mousse started snickering again. Katsuya and Ranko sneezed at the same time, but it was only Nabiki who noticed the similar gestures they did when they were rubbing their nose.

o.o.o.o.o

Killua: Done! And FRI!


	7. Chapter 7

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"DON'T FUCK WITH MY HAIR!" Something, some people will just have to learn the hard way. However, how long that would take is an interesting development to watch.

**Chapter Seven: The Headmaster, the Vampire and the Copycat**

"Too slow! Faster! Did you take a snail pill?! Move it!" Shiyu snapped as she thrust her bamboo weapon at me. It's been a week since my blindness came and went.

"Mercy! Time out!" I shouted and dodged clumsily. I'm not allowed to use my blades during training anymore. That cuts down my speed by a good half and since running or jogging hurts my joints, it's not much help in this training.

During that week, I continued with everyday routines… Of course, I needed the help of my neighbors and Ranma at first. Eventually, I managed to get the hang of sensing chi and went about doing things almost casually. I think I surprised Ranma when I arrived at school before he did.

"What's this thing call time out? There is no such thing called time out! Get your girly ass moving!" my dear Satan or Spartan teacher roared before pulling a Final Fantasy move and dove down at me with her bamboo stick.

"Sephiroth, don't kill me!" I shouted and raised my closed fans in a cross to block, but I felt no pressure against my weapons.

Instead there was a soft tap to my head. I raised a hand to pull down my blindfold and glanced up. Yep, you didn't read wrong, I was doing this exercise with my eyes blindfolded. Mind you, it was mainly because I went a week without my sight during training. It's just easier to do it blind after the initial training. Of course, I'll work on that, once the blind training is done.

Shiyu had her arms crossed and her bamboo stick held loosely in her hand. "Do I want to know why you're randomly screaming out an angel's name?" her eyes narrowed. "Especially an angel from a book that is deep within the occult world of the westerners?"

I blinked. "Occult?"

"1849, Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, also known as the Black Bible in some other countries." She rattled off the information casually. "It's written in a dead language filled with countless spells and whatnot. I'm surprised that you even know about it."

"I really have no clue what you're talking about, the Sephiroth I was talking about… hmm, what do you know, he is a one-winged angel." I hummed. "So that's probably where they got Sephiroth from…" I shrugged. "How did you come about knowing that information? I doubt anyone makes it a casual practice to teach people how to read in dead languages."

"I have my ways," she said cryptically. "Get your ass up and back to practice girly."

"You're never going to let that go will you?" I said dryly, she smiled ever so amusingly.

"Blindfold back on dearest." She drawled.

"Can't I at least have a five minute break?" I begged.

"You know my motto!"

"Kill or let kill," I grumbled. "But I can't even touch you! Much less kill you!"

"I'm not killing you either am I?" she retorted. "Quit whining like a sissy and get back to work! I swear you youngsters are getting lazier with each generation."

I raised a brow. "Excuse me? Youngster? You're not that much older—scratch that! You're not even my age! You look like you're not more than 14 tops!"

"What do you know, you little twit!"

"PSMing bitch!"

"Obnoxious brat!"

We went about insulting each other until we slipped into another practice battle… with her owning my ass quite soundly. Oh don't worry; we're still on good terms. That's about the only way I can get a break from her. Our arguments usually lasts for a good few minutes, that's more than enough to catch my breath and rest a little before she kicks my ass again… Though, she kicks it twice as hard when she's pissed… At least she hasn't pulled out her whip yet… For some reason, I have a feeling that she's holding back a lot when training me. I don't doubt her physical strength sucks, but her speed is another thing. I have not once found her heaving from the lost of breath.

"Stop defending and start retaliating. What are you going to do when you face a real fight? Defend until your attacker is exhausted or die of old age?"

"I'm nowhere near your speed! I can't even get close!" I protested, but she jumped up a tree with a single bound.

"I know you can get up here! Now move!"

I grumbled under my breath before leaning back, preparing myself for a running start. The thing is, even though I can get on top of a tree, I can't do it on a single leap; I need at least two walls or something similar to jump against each other… sort of like playing Super Mario… Or I can try being a human gecko and climb up there. Hmm… Maybe I should look into that tree climbing method the Naruto cast uses.

"Pay attention!" I felt a hand smack from the bamboo to my shoulder. "Just because you're blindfolded, doesn't mean I can't tell!"

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, even though Shiyu is a Spartan styled teacher, she won't force me to do anything she knows I can't do… but it doesn't mean she won't try to train me until I can do it. There is also another thing she won't do. She will not hit me on the head, unless it's a gentle tap. Though… her excuse, is not wanting to waste her time teaching, just to have me forget. So, instead, she kicks every other inch of my sorry ass.

"SHIT!" I cursed loudly when I missed the branch by inches. "Shiyu!"

"Damn it!" she shouted.

I'm assuming she's coming after me, but I can't really tell. You see, Shiyu-san's chi is a bit strange… well, a WHOLE lot strange. It changes almost every time I see her. Occasionally, I don't feel her chi at all... Maybe I'm thinking too much, she probably just has very good chi control and was trying to confuse me. Eventually, my body came to a stop; Shiyu probably caught me or something.

"Oi, stupid, pull off your blindfold." Shiyu's voice was directly in front of me.

I raised a hand to pull down the blindfold. I came face to face with Shiyu, her feet were firmly planted on the floor and her arms are crossed while I'm upside down… So how am I staying up? I blinked before glancing around…

"HOLY SHIT! I'M FLOATING!" just as soon as those words left my mouth, I came crashing down. I couldn't help but let a Kuno moment slip out of my mouth. "Ow…That hurt…"

"Idiot," Shiyu murmured before hauling me up… of course she had some trouble, since I'm taller and probably heavier than her. "Well, I'll have to say your training is coming along nicely… though that last part I don't recall anyone ever doing that before."

"Wait, so that wasn't you?" I really thought it was her doing.

"What makes you think I can do that?" she asked before she froze.

"Is something wrong Shiyu-san?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said before placing a hand to her mouth. "Training is over today! Go home!" she hissed before darting off.

I wonder what's wrong with her. She always seems to disappear lately during training. I shrugged and climbed up one of the many trees to grab my bag. I don't care what she says, walking hurts, especially after her training. Once I donned on my blades, I packed away my shoes and strapped my fans at my sides. Even though Shiyu said training is over, occasionally, she'll come back and attack me.

"Katsuya Shinochi!" I stopped with a T-break and swerved around. I came face to face with a copy of myself.

"May… I help you?" I asked in puzzlement.

"I challenge you to a fight!" he pointed at me.

I stared at him for a moment longer before turning away. "Maybe some other time, I'm sore today."

I can hear him collapse behind me. "What!?" he snapped. "Fight me!"

I barely dodged when he charged to attack me. "I said I didn't want to fight!" I pulled out my fans just as he pulled out his own set to attack me. "Just who the heck are you?"

"They call me Copycat Ken!" he smirked… I must say, I look quite handsome when I look evil… Ah great, I'm getting distracted by my own pretty face… Talk about being narcissistic.

"And I should care why?" I blinked.

He face faulted. "You asked! Why shouldn't you care? I'm wearing your damn face!"

I grinned. "A very pretty one!" I must say, I look quite cute peeved as a guy anyway, not really sure I still look as cute as a girl though.

"Damn it! Don't you care if I ruin your name with your own face?" he snapped.

I shrugged. "Do what you want. I'm not going to be here forever anyway." I'll make sure this is true. I'm almost done putting the mirror shards back together, only a small handful of them left.

"Heh, so you don't care if I rape anyone with your face?" he smirked.

I stared at him for a moment, not really sure what to say. As a girl I'm completely against the idea of rape. However… "Make sure you're raping guys, because the girls would not believe it's me, if you raped girls… but then again, they usually suspect that I'm the bottom one…" I sniffled and wailed. "I hate you crazy fan girls!"

He immediately blanched at my comments. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I shrugged. "You're going to have to ask my brother or my parents," I said truthfully. "I'm still pondering on the nature versus nurture argument."

"Fight me damn it!" He snapped before charging at me. I shifted to dodge before pulling my blindfold over my eyes. There is no way I'll be able to fight with my vision, at least not yet. "Hmph, you're going to fight me blindfolded? Arrogant one, aren't you?"

"Why are you attacking me? I'm not even the strongest martial artist here! Heck! I shouldn't even be considered one!" I asked as I blocked each attack from a replica of my fan.

"Because I'm the master copycat! I can defeat any martial artists with their own skills!" he declared boastfully.

I mentally sighed; these Nerimians are a pain in the ass. At least I know one thing for sure; he's not going to be able to kick my ass at all at this rate. My offensive sucks ass! He can be trying to kill me with my attacks all day and none of it would touch me. And Shiyu said it was useless to train up my defenses! However, it might not be the case, since Copycat Ken is starting to get irritated with the lack of progress with attacking me.

"Ken-san, can we please stop? This isn't getting anywhere. Why don't you go after Ranma or the others? I'm sure they're more of a challenge."

"Stop mocking me you fairy boy!" he snapped furiously. I swear these people have a temper problem.

I sighed as I flipped open my fan and caught his fan before twisting it out of his grip, but instead of attacking immediately, I quickly retreated. I'm not certain where he was able to pick my skills, every time I trained with Shiyu; I never picked up anyone else in the vicinity of our training area. Better be safe than sorry, since the only time I actually attack my opponent is when their arms or other limbs are occupied.

"Ken-san, tell me, where did you pick up my skills? I haven't openly fought anyone as of yet." I spun on my blade before speeding backwards. "But you seem to have picked up a lot of my worthless offensive capabilities."

He snorts. "Don't mock me. I don't have to watch you fight to pick up your abilities, the way you move is effective enough."

"Pardon?" I don't get what he's staying.

"You're really a novice in martial arts aren't you?" I heard his imitation blades scratch the grounds as he came to a halt. "My branch of martial arts picks up the skills of others by their mere movements. Muscle imitation would be more accurate term for it. I've been watching you nearly every morning while you ride this contraption to school. Your style relies mostly on your movements from your waist and thighs to assist your movements. As for your arms, you use mostly your wrist and triceps for fan movements. Besides defending, your arms are useless for fights."

I tilted my head aside. "If you know all that already, why are you bothering with attacking me? You already know my defense is much better than my offense and since I know you're using my style to attack, I can defend against my own weak attacks."

"That's not the point! I'm supposed to defeat all no matter strong or weak with their own style!" he stomped the ground furiously and nearly fell because of the wheels.

"Yeah… you do that, I'm going to get my grocery shopping done. Good day Ken-san," I said as I pulled down my blindfold to navigate again.

"I got you now!" he cackled. My eyes widened as he charged up to me. This is the first time I've ever watched my opponent charge at me. I almost forgot to move if my weight didn't set off the blade's movement.

I shifted my weight to change my direction before quickly blading ahead. There was no way I was going to win this fight and I'm not sticking around to get my ass kicked. I'm not Ranma or Ryouga, I know my limits and when to quit. I charged chi to my legs forcing them to go faster. I glanced back in triumph, apparently he only copies muscle memory, he can't copy chi moves… not that I have much for him to copy anyway. I was certain I could lose him around the next corner when someone grabbed me and pulled me into a house. I hand was over my mouth before I can scream.

However, it was a good thing that this stranger did so, because Ken ran pass without even noticing that I was there. "You got into a little mess there haven't you Katsuya-san." The familiar voice made me tilt my head back.

I smiled brightly as he removed his hand. "Midori oji-san!" I said happily.

"Oji-san?" he scoffed. "I'm not that old!"

"You're not that young either," I grinned.

He gave a bellow of a laugh before rustling up my hair. "That is why I like burning youths like you! Always full of life and wit." I scowled as I tried to get the tangles out of my hair. "So, why is there a copy of you running around?"

"Who knows, Nerima is full of these nutcases, he'll be gone within a week or so, I wouldn't worry." I said as I retied my hair.   
"Well, you be careful when you're going around then."

I blinked before glancing back at him. "Don't you have work today?"

"It's my day off!" he grinned.

"Honey, who is it?" a sweet woman's voice floated from the kitchen.

"Just a co-worker!" he responded. "He's staying for dinner!"

"But—"

"I won't take no, you're staying for dinner tonight." He declared before dragging me off like a kidnapped victim.

Dinner was enjoyable enough. The woman turned out to be Midori's wife, not a bad cook, still wondering would my stomach protest later, but for the moment, it's happy. She was expecting a baby soon and Midori was gushing over her large stomach the whole time. They were so enthusiastic, I couldn't say no when his wife shoved me with a box of leftovers from our dinner.

o.o.o.o.o

I was rolling slowly back home as I enjoyed the night view when I found a strange couple under a street light. The shorter of the two had her head buried in the man's neck as he embraced her. My brows knitted together as I frowned. There shouldn't be any open displays of affection around this time period, 1970s Japan was still very conservative with their youths at the time. They wouldn't be stupid enough to do it, at least not around this time of night; it's still early enough for people to be still walking about.

I was going to just ignore them and continue on my way, when I spotted something peculiar about the girl… flames… She had red flames on the helms of her long black coat. "Shiyu!" I shouted without thinking.

She froze, there is no doubt it's her now. I caught a faint moan from the man, but it didn't last long, when she pulled away and he collapsed in front of her. "Katsuya…" she hissed. My weight shifted and caused my blades to roll back. The man on the ground was pale, but there were no visible wounds I can see on him.

"What did you do to him Shiyu?" I stomped down firmly on my uncertainty as I asked her.

"You're frightened, Katsuya." She responded calmly, but has not once turned to glance at me yet. "I can hear your heart racing; I can smell the sweat you're expiring. Are you afraid of me?" She glanced up, her eyes were glowing red, and her tongue licked clean a stray drop of blood. Her fangs were extruding out quite noticeably.

"You're a vampire," I whispered. Then it clicked in my mind. The reason why her chi felt strange was because she had no living chi, the chi she's been emitting was from the people she fed on.

"Is that a problem?" she drawled. I could feel her pulsing with renew energy unlike earlier today. Her hand brushed over the man's head before she moved completely away from him and towards me. I wonder was it to close his dead eyes.

"You're not 13 are you?" I grinned weakly in an attempt to keep my nerves in check. Vampires are dangerous, from what I read, most kill the ones they feed on. Either to drain of their prey of their knowledge and abilities, or they don't want them to possibly change into another vampire. Shit, I saw her feed; does it mean she'll kill me next? I'm a threat to her identity.

She snorted and crossed her arms. "You're an idiot, you know that Katsuya?" the fangs slowly receded and her eyes turned back to a warm brown color. "I'm not going to kill you, you nitwit."

"Are you going to turn me then?" I squeaked.

She frowned. "Why the hell do I want to do that?"

"You're a vampire!" I can't help but shout out stupidly again. My brain has left the house, I can't think coherently at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEP.

"Yes, you got that point across already. Do you have anything else to add?" she commented dryly. I didn't. "Let me tell you this, don't EVER jump to conclusions before you get the full view of the situation, things like that would get you killed." She smirked. "I saw your run-in with Copycat Ken. You're doing exceptionally better than I thought you would. Expect a change in our training regime tomorrow. Meet me at the usual place at dawn." She said as she walked briskly past me.

I blinked. "Dawn?" my brows knitted. "Won't you burn up and die if you saw sunlight?"

She turned back with a smile. "You'll just have to see, don't you?" with that, she disappeared again.

"Ugh…" I flinched and turned back to the guy that she fed from. "Oh man, what happened? Damn, I must've drunken out of my mind. My neck hurts like a bitch!" I watched as he rubbed his neck, but found no mark from Shiyu's feeding. "What the hell are you looking at!?" I flinched but said nothing as I turned to leave.

o.o.o.o.o

When I returned home, I found not one, but TWO Jusenkyo cursed individuals sulking in my apartment. "Do I want to know why the two of you are being emo in my house of all places?" Neither of them answered. "I guess you two got your asses handed in by Ken-san!" I snickered.

"What!?" The two broke from their sulking position and turned their undivided attention to me. "You know him?"

"Wish I didn't," I muttered before shoving the leftovers into the fridge.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you know about him?"

"I just met him today myself, I only know what he told me, nothing more." I said with my hands up trying to get them to give me back my personal space… STOP BREATHING MY AIR DAMN YOU!

"Oh, then I guess you wouldn't know much," Ranma muttered.

"I don't get you martial artists, what's so important about the art anyway?" I asked curiously.

Wrong question. "How can you say that Katsuya!? It's everything to us!"

"Unless you have a dojo and formally give lessons, it's not likely you'll be earning an income by martial arts. Also, the times are changing. Technology is starting to advance and people are leaning towards that. Soon, martial arts would be degraded to a diet programs."

They clenched their fists. "That'll never happen!"

"Believe what you want, I'm just telling you what I think." I caught the cushion they tossed and used it to block everything else they pelted at me. Good thing, those were small and non-breakable. "Oh very mature!" I retorted. "AIII!!! Not the table! Not the table! That cost money!" I cried out to Ryouga. Ranma on the other hand had my futon. "Noooo! Where am I going to sleep if you did that!?" The two did not stop. I twitched before storming into my storage closet and grabbed my trusty weapon. "Put down the furniture and I will not fire!"

"You wouldn't!" Ranma dared. I pulled the trigger and shot a blast of cold water into his face… now her face.

"Ryouga-kun?" I glanced over to the other before he obediently put down the table.

I lowered my water gun. "Good, now let's all act like civil—"

"GET HIM!" I was plowed to the ground by Ryouga. I quickly pulled the trigger and wet Ryouga before pulling the piglet off me.

Ranma was about to charge when I screamed. "STOP OR THE PIG GETS IT!" I managed to grab a pair of scissors from the counter during the scuffle.

"Stop!" This went on and off for a good portion of the night. Eventually, the three of us just collapsed in exhaustion from the mental trauma we put each other through.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ugh…" I groaned from the ground I was slammed into. While Shiyu doesn't have strength, speed can do just as much damage, if you know how to use it. She gave me about twenty jabs to the stomach, same spot, before tossing me over her shoulder.

"Are you awake yet!?" She snapped before pulling back her leg for a kick, I barely managed to roll away before it met with my face.

I yanked off my blindfold as I sat up. "Can you stop hitting me in places that's visible for people to see? It's hard enough to get by without people asking me everyday where I get these injuries!"

"Why don't you just beat me then?" she mocked.

"I'll kick your ass someday you defective vampire!"

"But until then, I own your ass!" she chuckled.

You may be wondering why I called her a defective vampire and I'll gladly tell you why. From what I gathered, her kind of vampire is not handicapped by garlic, running water, religious symbols and a stake to the heart. On the contrary, she loves to bite people who have just eaten garlic, a dedicated Buddhist (that's why she doesn't kill, her kind normally does kill), she swims on occasion… and lastly, I tried stabbing her in the chest. By the way, that only irritates her, even if it healed up in a few minutes.

"Enough rest, let's start on your flying training."

"F-flying?" I gapped at her. "But I'm not even done with the basics! Why are we rushing?"

She grinned. "Because I'm getting bored with making you eat dirt. If you learned how to fly, I get to change our training grounds."

"What, you can fly now too?" I grumbled as I picked myself up and brushed off some of the dirt clinging to my clothes. "Ah great! I'm filthy! The fan girls are going to have another imagination fest. What the hell are they going to think of this time?" I muttered irritably.

When I lost my vision for the week, they thought Ranma squirt… erm… stuff into my eyes. They made up the most embarrassing and physically impossible (for me) stories. It got worst when I needed Ranma's help around the school the first two days. By the third day, my chi senses finally kicked in to make up for my lack of sight. While, it's not the same as seeing, I can at least go around without needing Ranma or Akane to help.

"I can't fly you nitwit, now what did you do last time? If we can't train you in it, at least try to find out what happened yesterday." Shiyu was surprisingly patient with this. "Don't think I'm letting you off easily. Just only because I can't use chi, doesn't mean I don't understand some of its concepts. I have traveled to China about a few centuries back."

"A few… just how old are you?" I asked.

"Now what fun would it be if I told you?"

"Crazy old bat," I muttered under my breath.

"Say what you want, but I want you to think about how you floated yesterday." She glanced at her watch before grinning. "And I suggest you start running, you're going to be late."

"Say what!?" I glanced at my watch and noticed she was right, I was going to be late if I don't start. "I'll get you for this you crazy old bat!" I snapped at her before strapping on my blades in a hurry and dashed off.

o.o.o.o.o

"Good morning Katsuya-kun!" Akane greeted.

"Katsu! You're late too?" Ranma shouted merrily to me. The jackass is probably glad that he's not going to be alone standing outside if I was late.

"Shut up Ranma," I growled.

He chuckled. "Still not a morning person."

"No really, I didn't know that. Dumb ass!" I said sarcastically. It wasn't long before we reached the school gates. However, when we entered the classroom…

"Katsuya-kun, you're so naughty!" giggled one of the fan girls.

I blinked when I spotted a copy of myself sitting on the teacher's back with two armfuls of girls. He smirked evilly at me… I really need a camera; I look absolutely hot, when evil… I should really see a psychiatrist about my vanity when I get back home. I wonder if it's hereditary. The girls became confused when they saw me.

"Sorry I'm late sensei! I was caught up with a little trouble at home. Good morning, Ken-san."

"KEN!" Ranma snapped furiously before charging at the guy, the girl quickly fled after finding out that he wasn't me.

"Oh wow! Look! Ranma is defending his true love!" the girls squealed. I nearly plowed myself to the ground in disbelief.

I sighed dejectedly and went to free our teacher. "Sensei, shall we continue with today's lesson?" I asked. The teacher nodded mutely.

"Shinochi! This is not over! I will defeat you!" he declared loudly while he sat on top of Ranma's beaten form. "I'm declaring you my rival!"

My mouth gapped open. "Say what?"

"I shall challenge you again once your classes are over!" he pointed. How rude! Haven't his mother told him not to point?

"After class?" I blinked.

"You may have bested me last time, but I will not let you slip away again!"

"KYA!!!! A love rival!" the girls screamed out. God, do you hate me? What did I ever do to you?

"Love rival?" Ken's jaw dropped before jumping off Ranma. "You weren't kidding! OH MY GOD!" he points at Ranma accusingly. "You're a homo!"

"I'm not a homo, you bastard!" Ranma threw a punch at Ken, but the copycat transformed into him and dodged out of the way.

"Shinochi! I'll see you after class! You're not getting away from me that easily!" He cackled before darting out of the room. The girls squealed in delight.

"Must you phrase it like that!?" I shouted after him, not likely he heard me, but I would at least like to defend myself from further weird daydreams from these girls.

Of course, god is a PSMing bitch that likes to make my life miserable. "Ranma-kun, you better train up, before Katsuya-kun gets stolen away by that Ken guy."

"Sensei, can we please get the lesson started?" I begged the teacher to do something. Anything would've been fine.

"_GOODA MORNIN STADUTENTS!_" I winced at the mangled English that ran through the intercom. "Report to the gymnasium for an assembly!" Wonderful, head of the Kuno household has finally appeared. Can you hear the joy and delight dripping off my voice?

o.o.o.o.o

I was holding back my urge to cover my ears and bang my head soundly to the ground by the second sentence of nonsense this man spouted. I could feel my intelligence slipping away just by hearing the lack of grammar and proper sentence usage.

"And so! Everyone would be getting haircuts to conform to the new school rules!" he declared. There were shouts of outrage. "And the first to get their hair cuts are those two long haired brothers!"

Long haired brothers? "Fuck…" I whispered when I realized it was me and Ranma.

I barely pulled out my fan in time to block the sharp terrors. I never minded when my onni-chan grabbed onto my hair to stop me from running away from chores or even when my baby cousin Kai-chan grabbed it and stuffed it into her little mouth, but no one, I repeat, NO ONE FUCKING CUTS MY HAIR! It holds a lot of fond memories, like hell I'm letting it go without a fight!

"It's against _school_ regulations to have weapons _boy_!" the nutcase cackled and continuously attacked me.

"_These are not weapons you imbecile! If you had paid attention, you would've noticed they're fans!_" He seemed puzzled and surprised. It wasn't until later that I realized that I slipped into English. I'm guessing his horrible English made me slip. I blocked another cutting-sheer before kicking him soundly in the crotch. He screamed in agony and dropped to the ground in a fetal position. "DON'T FUCK WITH MY HAIR!" I swore I saw red.

"… Katsu? Katsu?" It took a while before I heard someone talk to me. I glance over to Ranma. "You're never going to do that to me, right buddy?"

I blinked before glancing down. The monster was still rolling on the ground. The rest of the male population had backed away from us. "Erm… I really don't like people touching my hair…" I mutter sheepishly. "I think I'll disappear for a while…"

I hurried out of the gymnasium before anyone can say another word. Though, if they had bother looking, they would've found me sitting at the back of the gymnasium, still listening to the rest of the assembly. While I have a great dislike towards many of the authority figures here, it won't do me any good if they decide to use my lack of respect against me. I still have to survive before I find a way back home. It didn't take long for the crazed principle to announce the coconut search.

"Idiots," I muttered when they ran out of the gymnasium and into the school.

"They are, aren't they?" a wispy sigh came from above. I glanced up to find Shiyu sitting quite casually on a branch.

"What do you want, defect?" I sighed irritably.

"Loved how you managed the fool." She drawled. "If I didn't know you were a girl, I would've thought of you as a eunuch. Kicking in such a delicate place."

"Not in the mood Shiyu-san." I grumbled irritably as I glanced out from the side of the wall. If I remember correctly, the coconut with the excuse should be inside of the gymnasium.

"So, have you thought of how to fly yet?" she asked.

"Not since I've seen you forty minutes ago. Don't you have anything else to do besides stalking me?" I grumbled as we slipped into the gymnasium.

"I could be feeding, but how can I pass off good entertainment?"

"Did I tell you that I hate you?" I growled.

"Every time I see you," she chuckled. "Why are you searching for the thing the long way?"

"Long way?" it took a minute before I realized she was suggesting I use chi sensing to find the thing. "Thanks…" I trailed off when Shiyu disappeared on me. I shrugged before closing my eyes for better concentration. And there it is the coconut with the exemption from hair cuts. Seems a bit too easy though.

However, it wasn't until later that I'll be confronted for getting the coconut so easily… I hate this world.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: I tried to get this out sooner, since I got this awesome mindless flame! But since this person didn't leave a way for me to contact him or her, I'll just have to leave it here.

Syk-san- Thank you for your lovely and yet brainless flame. It makes me want to write this story even more! Since this is purely of enjoyment, I'm quite glad it peeved you! Btw! I'll tell you a secret! I have no life! xDD So it doesn't matter what happens if I write this or not, I'll still be bored out of my nutty little mind! Besides, the fun part of writing SIs is just to see the SI in writing getting tortured! Not paired up, not turned godly! It's to torture them to no ends! (cackles) I'm cruel aren't I? (GRIN) Hence (waves towards her penname) SOOOO I hope you drop by again and give me another delightful spit of fire! I'm afraid the last one is not hot enough to dry Katsu's clothing after he got drenched! Give me more burn! Give me more ANGAR! xDD

Cm Aeris: (sighs) I really wish I have more of those reviewers. (grins) They bring a nice fire for the start of a bonfire. YAY PYROMATICS!

Killua: (sighs and rolls his eyes) FRI!


	8. Chapter 8

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"No way…" I stumbled backwards in surprise. Never in my life would I have expected this outcome. "No..."

**Chapter Eight: Mirror, Mirror in My Hand**

"Easy, easy!" I bit onto my lower lip as I tried to ease the last piece of the mirror into place without shoving the other pieces out of place.

_Click_

Success! It went in! I quickly moved to get a bottle of clear nail polish I bought the other day before pouring a thin layer over the mirror. While glue may keep the pieces together, the polish would seal off the cracks. Even if you can still see them, it shouldn't affect its capability much right? After all, the one that sent me here was shattered to countless pieces. I pulled out my fan and started a gentle breeze to help the polish dry faster.

"You have strange hobbies," Shiyu's voice startled me out of fanning the thing methodically.

"Shiyu-san! What are you doing here?" I refrain from jumping since I didn't want all my hard work to go to waste from the shake.

"You haven't been out of your house all day; I'm just curious to what's keeping you indoors." She said as she strode over and plopped down ungracefully, yet somehow lightly onto the ground next to me.

"Nothing, just didn't feel like going out," I said.

She snorted. "The sun is out the birds are chirping and you had never pass off a good chance to ride that contraption."

"I just don't want to go out. Why is it so hard to believe that?" I grumbled.

"A mirror?" she disappeared from my side and picked up the mirror casually.

"Hey watch it! It's not dried yet!" I hurried to grab the mirror out of her hands and checked over the thing. Oh good, it's dried.

"What's so special about this stupid mirror?" She snatched the thing out of my hands, looking over the thing.

"Careful with that!" I flailed my arms since I don't dare touch her as long as she has that mirror. "If you break that, I don't know if I can go home!"

"Oh?" She turned to me as I bit my lower lip. I just said what I didn't want her to know. "How does a mirror," she waved the thing in front of my face. "Help someone return home?" She raised an eyebrow. "If there something you want to tell me?"

I nearly screamed when she flipped the mirror into the air in a full rotation before catching it by the handle again. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you! Just don't break it!" I begged.

She grinned and plopped down on a cushion, gently lowering the mirror to the table. "I'm listening."

"You already know I'm not from around here and I have things most people have never seen. You might not believe me and it might sound corny… Well, I'm from the future. I broke that mirror during my time and it sent me back here. I need it to go back." Well… Not really the future of this place, but a little omission never hurt anyone… By anyone, I meant me.

"The future?"

"I know it sound preposterous but—"

"I believe you." She said. I gapped at the speed of her response. "I've seen this mirror before…" I flinched when her eye twitched irritably. "I would've killed that little monster if Master didn't stop me…" I wonder if she ran into Happosai in the past. "Well, that certainly explains your scent."

"My scent?" I asked in puzzlement.

She waves it off. "But this mirror is cracked does it still work?"

"I hope it works, if not, then it was just a waste of my time to piece that thing back together." I grumbled.

"Do you even know how to work the mirror?" she asked.

"…"

She grinned. "You don't remember do you?"

"FUCK!" I screamed and banged my head against the table. CURSE MY HORRIBLE MEMORY! How the hell do you use this stupid mirror!?

"Oi stupid," I reluctantly pulled my head up, only to have onion juice squirted in my face.

"GAH! What hell are you doing Shiyu!?" I bit my lower lip as my eyes tear up. "It burns!" I wailed before getting up to wash it off, but Shiyu blocked me from moving with the mirror. "Shiyu!" I raised my hands to rub the juice away, but she caught my hand before putting the mirror under my chin.

"Stay still, the mirror needs tears. Next time do a little research before touching magical items." She drawled.

"Thanks," I croaked trying my best to keep my hand from rubbing my eyes. I want to go home so badly.

My tears splashed onto the surface. Nothing happened at first; I thought it was truly broken. However, after a moment, the tear was absorbed into the glass. Probably the nail polish delayed the reaction time. The mirror glowed before enveloping everything around me. The light was so bright; I had to shield my eyes and wake for the light to pass. When the light passed, I lowered my arms and glanced about. I smiled when I spotted the familiar walls of the living room.

"Home sweet home," I sighed.

"This is where you live?" I froze and glanced over.

"S-SHIYU!" I shouted and jumped away in surprise.

"I was holding the mirror idiot. Do you really think I wouldn't get dragged along?" she sighed and glanced around. "So this is the future… Doesn't look like it changed much."

"I'll show you around later, I need to go…" I trailed off when I noticed the living room was quite furnished. "What the hell? I thought they packed up! What's going on?"

"Doesn't look like anyone is home," Shiyu commented as she walked out from one of the rooms, it's quite strange to see her randomly walking out of rooms, but with her speed, it's probably quite normal for her. "You have younger siblings, Katsu?"

"Younger?" I asked in puzzlement. "I'm the youngest in the family. Ran 'nee-chan and Genyu 'nni-chan are both older than me."

"Heh, then you're not home yet," she grinned. "There's something you might want to see."

"I want to see?" I walked into the bedroom that was supposed to be my room. I gapped at the bunk bed and the amount of baby items and toys littered about the place. "I don't believe this! Just when did the stupid thing send me?"

"Did you tell it what time you wanted to go back to?" Shiyu asked. I resisted the urge to grab a wall and slam my head into it. "I knew it."

"Why do you hate me?" I bemoaned to whatever religion that's tormenting me.

"Quit whining and do something about it… Hmm… the mirror seems to be missing."

"WHAT!?" I snapped up almost hysterically. "What do you mean it's missing!? You were holding it!"

She shrugged carelessly. "Personally, I wouldn't care what time period we're in. I'm near immortal anyway."

"I thought you're supposed to guard Ranma's family! How can you do that when you're not even in the same world as him!?" I snapped.

"What are you talking about? He's not dead yet. He is in this world."

"But he's… wait, you said he's in this world?" I glanced over to her curiously.

"Are you deaf?" She scowled. "I said he's alive what's the big deal?"

"He's not—" A shuffling noise worked at the front door before it opened. I turned to tell Shiyu to hide, but she was already gone.

"Oh my! Katsu-kun, it's been a while since you last visited."

My eyes widened. "Kaa… Kasumi-san," I recovered, it can't be. Not possible.

"Mama! Who's that?" a little girl with pigtails peeked out from behind Kasumi.

"Who that, who that!" echoed the little boy on Kasumi's other leg.

"Say hi to Katsu-kun. He's papa's friend" Oh… my… Ra…

"HI!" the little boy latched onto my leg. "Mama, friend? What that? WOOH! Me see! THAT! GIMME!" he tried to climb my leg to grab the fan. I resisted squealing like a fan girl as I slipped my hands under his arms and hauled him up. He promptly reached out and clapped his hands over my face before giggling.

"You're a little rascal aren't you?" I tossed him up and caught him again; it's always fun to play with kids. He giggled more and clapped his hands over my face a few more times.

"Poofy, puffy, puff, puff! Nee-chan!" he twisted to reach for his sister. The little girl ignored him and ran into the room. "Nee-chan!" he struggled a bit more before I let him down and he ran after his sister.

"Will you be able to stay for dinner?" Kasumi asked sweetly as she closed the door and carried the grocery to the kitchen.

"I don't know…" I said before glancing around, trying to spot Shiyu. She was well hidden. "I have something to do; maybe I'll come back later."

"MAMA!" the little boy screamed as crying followed.

I darted into the room before Kasumi even moved. I found Shiyu holding onto girl's arm from the top bunk and the brother was crying on the floor. "She fell," Shiyu said simply as I went over to pick up Ran. She disappeared again as soon as the little girl was safely in my arms.

The little girl wailed. I shifted her in my arms gently before I spotted her disjointed arm. "It hurts!" she cried.

"What happened?" Kasumi rushed in and gathered the girl up and checked over the arm.

"She fell," I murmured.

"Mama!" she cried.

"Why don't you take her to Tofu sensei?" I said and picked up the crying Genyu and rocked him to getting him to stop his crying.

"Tofu sensei left a while back, don't you remember?" Kasumi asked.

"Right… erm… I guess we should take her to the hospital then." I said uncertainly before the boy grabbed my ponytail and yanked at it.

o.o.o.o.o

I sat in the waiting room with Kasumi's son napping on my lap. I'm guessing the mirror can only throw me around in Ranma's world. I sighed dejectedly and mussed up the boy's hair fondly. He looks familiar somehow. I wonder who his father is, especially if it's not Tofu sensei.

"You look comfy," Shiyu's amused voice made me lean back against the wall tiredly.

"Do you know how long before the mirror sends us back?" I asked.

"Don't know, never used the mirror before." She said casually, but I can hear the grin in her voice.

"Why are you so amused?" I glanced over to her.

"The parentage of this brat is quite amusing, that's all." Even though it's a dead drawl with a grin, I could swear I hear the song, _"Nya, nya, nya, nya, nyaaaaaaaaaa. I know something you don't!"_ What a drag…

"So you know who their father is, what's so amusing about it?" I asked.

"Katsuya, have you noticed something I did out of the ordinary today? Something I normally wouldn't do?"

"Do I have to guess?" I covered my mouth yawning.

"Katsuya!" I heard Shiyu shout out my name with a startled voice.

"What?" I rubbed my eyes and glanced over to her.

"Give the kid back to Kasumi, we're going." She said seriously… I wonder why the sudden mood changes. "Now," she ordered.

"Fine, fine, I'm going, I'm going." I sighed and carried the boy out of the room. My arm felt funny, I was walking towards the room where Kasumi's daughter was being treated, when I heard a dreadfully familiar voice.

"Yes, I'm looking for the patient Ran Shinochi, she's my daughter."

"No way…" I stumbled backwards in surprise. Never in my life would I have expected this outcome. "No fucking way…" I whispered.

"Papa?" I glanced down and found the little boy rubbing his eyes. "Papa!" he turned to me with big eyes and shuffled around trying to get down. Why haven't I noticed this before? "Kat! Down!" he tugged on my arm and tried to stomp his foot down. I placed him down before he ran to his father.

"Katsuya, over here," I was tugged out of the father and son's sight, but I can still see them quite clearly.

"GENYU! What are you doing here alone!? Where's your mother and sister?"

"Cat! Cat!" little Genyu shouted.

"WHERE!?" his father jumped and glanced around in horror.

"Mr. Shinochi, your wife and daughter is in room 329."

"Thank you," he said in a hurry before picking up Genyu and running off.

I stood there for a moment longer before slumping down to the ground. "Shit…"

"Do you want to answer my earlier question now?" Shiyu asked in amusement.

"I married Kasumi!" I shouted in horror, Shiyu collapsed to the ground in disbelief.

"Are you retarded?!" Shiyu got up and snapped at me.

I cracked up laughing. "Just kidding," I grinned before sobering up. "Ranma is my dad… what kind of fucked up reality is this?" I ran my hands into my hair before laughing it up a bit more. "The mirror must not have worked. There's a logical explanation to this. Ranma probably took up my name to get out of the mess the Saotome name gave him. Ran and Genyu are fairly common names; he could've picked it just because he liked them. It doesn't mean it's my nee-chan and nni-chan."

"Katsuya calm down!" Shiyu snapped as she grabbed onto my collar. I hadn't even notice I was hyperventilating.

"Not real, nothing is real. Not real," I repeated, biting my lower lip trying to keep myself from crying out of frustration.

"Snap out of it you idiot, why is it so hard to believe that Ranma is your father? You fucking traveled back in time! That's hard enough to believe for most people."

"Because Ranma is nothing more than a fucked up story! No one in it is real! They're just story characters!" I shoved her hand away.

"Even if what you said is real, what makes you think that they don't have an original place or concept where they are based on?" She knelt down and stared straight into my eyes. "You can control chi and fight like them can't you? Albeit, they're at a higher level than you are, but you can do it just the same."

"It's because I'm in this world, when I go home, all this would be nothing. Normal people can't jump psychotic heights, they can't shoot chi blasts!"

"Idiot," Shiyu hissed before punching me in the face. It actually stung; I think she placed all her strength into it. "Quit whining like a little bitch and get over it."

A rough urge bubbled at my chest. I can't help but break into a mad fit of giggles before it blown into a full bellow of laughter. I wasn't sure how long it went on for, but I was laughing so hard that my chest was burning from the lack of air. I raised a hand to wipe away the tear from the laughter before I finally settled down with a tired grin.

"Are you quite done with your break down?" Shiyu droned with her arms crossed.

"Yes," I giggled one last time before jumping to my feet. It's actually quite comforting to have Shiyu just wait until I was done. Had it been anyone else, they would've panic like headless chickens. "So what do we do now?"

Shiyu sighed. "This is why I hate the younger generations; they have no knowledge of cursed items."

"Cursed items?" I asked curiously. "You're awfully familiar with these magical things."

"You know, living for so long would get dull if you don't find yourself a hobby." She responded dryly as we walked out of the hospital.

"I thought you have the job of guarding Ranma's family," I questioned.

"I don't watch over them all the time! I'm only supposed to check up on them on occasion to make sure they're not dead. Besides, Ranma's generation is about the only one I had to check up this often. Troublesome brat." She muttered under her breath before she dragged me through the crowds.

"Um… where are we going?" I asked.

"Finding the mirror in this era and going home."

"I thought you said you lost it!" I glared.

"I said it was missing, I never said I lost it… you really don't know much about magical items, do you?" I stayed quiet; she'll probably continue to insult me anyway. "Time sensitive magical items have hard set rules… hmm… though; I'm not exactly sure which one this one follows."

"Rules?" I asked.

"It'll take too long to explain, so I'll put it simple terms. The mirror doesn't leave its time, so the one we used is still in 1972. We have to find the one in this time."

"But doesn't it mean we have to head back to Nerima?" I was promptly smacked in the head.

"Moron, you worked with a broken mirror, it can't take you to an exact place unless there's another copy of the mirror during that time." I rubbed my head, not getting what she was saying. "It's in Ranma's house stupid."

I sighed. "I think I'll leave the magic bit to you. I'm more comfortable with electronics and technology… I wonder what programs they use for computers right now." I murmured to myself before Shiyu smacked me upside the head again and dragged me off. Microsoft didn't start until 1975, so they're probably still relying on dos programs… man, I hate the past. The lack of good technology is maddening.

o.o.o.o.o

It was not surprising that Shiyu broke into the house so easily… though; I must get a full list of things she considers as hobbies… who knows if she'll turn out to be a Hojo or something… it's bad enough I think of her like Sephiroth... We're doomed if she decides that it's more fun to be a villain instead of the guardian she is right now.

"Don't just stand there stupid, look!" she snapped. For a vampire, she's not very vampirish. More bossy and classless if anything. So much for the romantic notion of vampires most of the writers during my time would write.

"Mirror, mirror, mirror, come out, come out, wherever you are." I sang dully as I went through one room then another. Shiyu was going at a much quicker speed, but she still had to be careful not to throw everything into a mess.

I got distracted at one point and just went into Ran and Genyu's room. I really can't refer to them as nee-chan and nni-chan at this point. It's just too weird to see them this little… but very cute! I wouldn't mind just glomping them and playing with them for a day… given that they're not very affectionate people. Back at home, they usually glare if I try to hug them… Mom and dad has no problem with it though, but given my mom is Kasumi, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Where oh where are you?" I sighed before going into the closet. I blinked when I spotted a box on the top shelf with my name on it. "The hell?" I grabbed the box and rummaged through the contents.

It was strange to find pictures I've never remember taking and things I've never seen before. Sure, I recognize the fan; I have an exact copy strapped to my back, but everything else is just puzzling. I went through it a bit longer before I spotted the familiar handle that brought me to this place. I pulled out the mirror, expecting no changes to the thing, but low and behold… There wasn't a crack on the thing.

"I see you found it," I jumped when Shiyu's voice suddenly came from my side. "Hmm… and unbroken too. Interesting…"

"How is it possible? I saw the cracks!"

"It's a magical item; you just need magical ways to fix it, stupid." She said before plucking the item out of my hand and examined it. "Looks like wizard work… doesn't seem like eastern sorcery."

"I'm not going to even bother to ask." Yep, I'll leave all the magical things to her. "Does that mean the one during our time would be fixed sometime soon?"

"Probably, hmm… looks like… Riolu's handiwork. That moron is still alive?"

"Wait… you can tell who fixed it?" I asked.

"Riolu's an egoistic little apprentice wizard. Met him about a century back. Arrogant little brat that fails at almost everything he does, nearly wet his pants when he found out I was a vampire. He must've grown a lot." She said thoughtfully.

"It's been years since you last seen him right?" I can't help but feel the hilarity of it. Maybe this guy is the next Merlin and this immortal being would forever remember him as an arrogant wuss. "Maybe you're the one that gets this fixed and sends me home in the end. From what Kasumi-san said, it seems like I've been missing for a while."

"Not improbable, I'll look into it when we get back. Now cry." She ordered me.

"It's not that easy to cry!" I protested. Other than onions I rarely cry… unless I'm extremely pissed off and out to murder someone… I mentally shrugged at my own thoughts. They're too weird and violent, if I say so myself. "Why don't you cry?"

"Because my tears are blood. I don't want to waste valuable blood when it's tears this thing requires."

"Fine, I'll see if there are any onions in the kitchen." I grumbled.

"No, you're crying without aide." She said firmly.

"Why do I have to cry without aids!?" I snapped furiously. "I don't even like crying!"

"Next part of your training."

"WHAT TRAINING!?" this is getting ridiculous.

"Tears are the best advantage to a girl. It's been too long we've been training your male form, we have to start training your female side."

"You've got to be kidding me," I gapped, but she was completely serious.

"The longer you take, the sooner they return and you have to explain yourself. Now shut up and cry." She said.

"How!? I don't normally cry if I can help it!" I huffed.

"Too bad, learn." She said promptly.

I grumbled in irritation before closing my eyes trying to think of something to make me cry. "Come on, dead puppies…" I tried to imagine Sephiroth killing puppies, but fallen to their puppy eyes and ended up cuddling them in chibi mode. I cracked up laughing, I have strange thoughts…

"How can one laugh at dead puppies is beyond me."

"I'm not laughing at dead puppies!" Yet, I grinned and cracked up laughing again.

"Does everyone in your time period act like this?" she asked dryly.

I bit back a giggle and shook my head. "Sorry, I'll try again." But I couldn't do it! Every time I try to think of something sad, it always turns out funny.

Shiyu was getting irritated. "Katsuya, what's your favorite thing in the world?"

I blinked in confusion. "Technology."

"You either cry or I will never get that mirror fixed. I'll break all the ones you have right now and I'll kill you before the technology comes back into this world." She stared me down. "And I mean it."

I felt my lower lip tremble. "You wouldn't! You couldn't!" She snapped her wrist before revealing something very familiar to me. "NO!!! My R4 chip! My games!!! NOS!!!!!"

I started bawling like the little baby I mentally am while trying to get it back from Shiyu. She was clicking the puny chip in and out of its adapter hazardously. It's not that I can't buy another R4 chip when I get back to my time, but the data in that little chip was hard to get! Yet, there was still no tears coming. She slowly pressed her thumb against the protruding piece. I saw red…

What happened next is a blur to me when I charged at Shiyu. I barely felt her hands tapping at my wrists to redirect my attacks. Blow by blow, it was not hitting her, but I was advancing. I was getting annoyed; I pulled out the fans from my back before swiping it at her. I remember hitting something, but it wasn't her. I tried again and again, each time getting closer and closer. I was furious; I couldn't help but scream and continue to strike at her. I'm not sure for how long I was like this, but when I finally realized I stopped, I was laying on my back staring up at the white ceiling.

The room… was completely trashed… There was a dent near the window. So that's how that came to be in my time… I trashed my own room… I couldn't help be crack up laughing again. Maybe Kasumi… I mean mom… is a psychic after all, giving me the room I trashed. This is just too weird. I found myself giggling for a long while before finally coming to my senses and sat up to find Shiyu stare at me in disbelief. She was sitting on the bed, which was surprisingly untouched in my chaotic fit of rage.

"Um… Sorry?" I laughed sheepishly.

"Tell me…" her eyes narrowed, I had to resist flinching. That was never a good sign when my brother does it. "Do you always go berserk when you're angry?"

"I'm not really sure… I don't really get angry often." I answered truthfully.

"What about the last time you got angry?" she asked.

"I… Don't really remember. I know it was from my dad breaking my laptop… but I pretty much blacked out after that. Mom said I had murder in my eyes and something else, but I really don't remember being angry… Irritated sure, but not really angry. Why?"

Shiyu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Because you're a berserker."

"Pardon?" I blinked. She can't possibly mean berserker fighters, most of those games aren't even out yet.

"It means you fight best at blind rage." Oh, she does mean that. "Compared with the way you normally fight me, your berserker mode seems to be able to find my evasive pattern and nearly managed to hit me almost every time. Given you still need some work with your speed you can probably catch up if you go into berserker mode after some more training. Also, you seem to hit harder too," she said absently as she brushed her hand over the dent near the window.

"What?" I said dumbly. I really can't believe the stuff coming out from her. Me, a fighter? That notion is completely weird. I'm more comfortable with people labeling me as a techno-geek… Sweet, sweet computers and the endless games following it. But when I ask people to class me, they can't put me to anything. They said I'm too weird to be placed in a class. Ah crud, in my musings I completely ignored what Shiyu was saying.

"… training will be upped to twice the amount when we get back, now cry!" she said before shoving the mirror below my chin.

I sighed and pondered a moment longer, wondering what possible way is there for me to cry. It's not often that I get sad or am sad for long, so I can't really cry on whim. Especially, since I know mom and dad was always there when I didn't feel well. I still don't want to think of them as Ranma and Kasumi. It's just too strange!

My dad is not this socially inept moron. Well, he may get the foot in the mouth syndrome every now and then, but nothing as extreme as Ranma. Mom… is mom! She did what moms are supposed to do, care for their kids and teach them to be respectful and whatnot. She has a temper too if she gets angry… though… I supposed Kasumi can be the same. She did seem to make certain Soun and Genma stayed around when Akane was cooking.

I really miss them. I miss the weird arguments I get into with my dad during dinner. I miss mom scolding me to go to bed earlier. I miss the pranks my brother pulls on me and the little lectures my sister gives me. Heck, I miss the death threats I get, from dad, for staying up pass three in the morning. Sure, they're still here, but they're not here as my parents… I really want to go home. I felt the tightening of muscles in my throat before finally sobbing with tears.

We were back in my apartment when Shiyu patted my shoulder. "I'm not sure what you were thinking to make you cry, but I suggest a cup of hot tea and a nice soak before you go to bed." When she left through the window, I noticed that it was night already.

I didn't listen to her suggestions and sat against my wall hugging onto my legs with my head against my knees. I felt like being emo. It sounded funny and something I don't do often at all… I'm usually too distracted by boredom to be emo, but I think this should be deemed as an emo moment. It's my right to be emo damn it! I want my mommy! Who hates me up there!? Freaking jack asses!

"Hey, Katsu! You okay?" a warm hand shook me by the shoulder. Ranma must've crashed in while I wasn't paying attention.

"I want to go home Ranma," I murmured.

"You're home aren't you?" he responded with a puzzled tone. "Ah, whatever, Kasumi is going to make an awesome feast tomorrow, you're coming right? She told me to ask if you were coming."

I was quiet for a moment before lifting my head up. "Is she going to bake a cake?" I grinned weakly.

"She didn't say… but I bet if we asked she'll make one!" he said brightly.

"Yeah, sure… I'll be there." I answered before he continued with his merry self and went raiding my fridge again.

"Katsu, think fast!" I barely raised my hand up in time to catch a peach, my favorite. "Hey, you're getting better." He said before biting into a peach of his own. I smiled faintly taking a bite out of my own fruit. I guess he does resemble dad a bit.

By the time tomorrow came, I was back to my usual self, struggling to fit into the strange Nerimian lifestyle. I hadn't notice the mirror missing until Shiyu stopped coming to our training sessions. I wonder what happened.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Okay, this chapter is a bit too emo for me… but it's about time Katsu gets a little homesick, don't you think so? Though… Traumatized should bit a more logical reaction. I bet most of you didn't expect me to make him Ranma's kid eh? Hopefully, this will be the last emo chapter I'm planning. Emo doesn't sit well with the little voices in my head.

Mokuba: o.o They were quite loud about killing all emo thoughts…

Killua: FRI.

Koganei: MURDER DEH EMO!


	9. Chapter 9

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"Don't just stand there! Hand me that would you?" remember I said someone up there really hates me? I'm changing my mind. They don't hate me. They fucking want to kill me.

**Chapter Nine: Hot Springs, Weak Ranma and Parental Instincts**

"Katsuya Shinochi!" I sighed dejectedly as I side-stepped an attack from Ken and raised my fan to the left to block his fan. Apparently, he was serious about being my eternal rival. Almost everyday for a week now, I find myself getting attacked by him around school or grocery shopping. Not that it's a bad thing; I'm actually improving each time he fights with me. It's like fighting myself and spotting all the mistakes I was doing before… Though, it would be nice if he stop attacking me during lunch.

"Can't this wait after I'm done with lunch?" I whined and dodged another attack.

"No, you fight me now!" he demanded.

"But I'm hungry!" I blocked Ken's fan casually. My defense against myself is ultimate! MUAHAHAA! …talk about lame; had Ken used Ranma or Ryouga to fight me, I would've had my ass handed to me twice over. "You know I can't beat my own defense, why do you bother? Not that I'm not grateful for the practice." I blocked another blow from his fan before attempting to strike back, he manages to block my blow as well and we continued to trade and block blows from one another.

"Just you wait, I'll beat you someday and then I'll beat Ranma too!" he growled irritably. By now, I'm quite used to talking to my own face. "Where is Ranma anyway? Isn't he usually up here with you for lunch?"

I finally managed to catch a break and got through his defense to strike him down. YES! The first time I ever have beaten myself! "Not really sure, he said something about meeting Akane in the gym," I'm quite certain it's not Akane that told to meet him there though. Of course, Ranma wouldn't know and goes anyway. Just only, I can't seem to remember who called him there. After all, there was so many that called him there in the series… You would think he'd learn his lesson by now.

"That doesn't sound like something Akane would do," Ah, so even Ken noticed.

Maybe I got my intelligence from mom… Ni-chan and nee-chan most definitely got it from mom. I'm a bit of a dunce compared to them. I have a straight B average compared to their straight A average. Yep, I'm not worth a dime when being compared in family reunions. But who cares about that anyway? It means fewer expectations from me and I can goof off! MUAHAHA! Take that, geniuses! Ah… I can just imagine my cousin Ryu rolling her eyes and sighing exasperatedly, calling me an idiot. I wonder whose her parents in this fucked up reality.

"It doesn't, does it?" I responded as I offered my hand to pull him up.

Unlike the other prideful idiots in this place, he accepts and reverts to his own face. "Well, I'll leave you to your lunch; I'll be back again later."

"Please not during dinner or in my house, I have enough trouble cleaning up with Ranma over."

"Fine, I—"

"MEREOW!!!!" the two of us rushed towards the fence to glance down to the school yard.

"Oh no," I groaned when I spotted a cat-crazed Ranma running around the school yard slashing things up with his chi-claws.

"Are you going to help?" he asked me.

"And get murdered?" I returned the question at him. "No offense, I may be able to beat you when you're using my face, but against Ranma, I'd die before I get anywhere near him. Especially, if he's in this state of mind."

"State of mind?"

"Ranma is afraid of cats… and before you think you can use it against him, if he snaps from the fears of cats, he becomes that." I pointed to Ranma, who was decimating a tree. "Even with your imitation skills, I don't think you can beat a wild animal with instincts like that."

"So you're not going to help?" he asked.

"What can I do?" I turned to him. "You've seen my abilities. What do you think I can do?"

"Calm him down maybe? At least I think that's what Genma is trying to do," he pointed.

I covered my face in embarrassment for him. Not only cross dressing, but with such bad taste. "Maybe, I should try…" I muttered before turning to leave by the stairs, but Ken caught me by the shoulder.

"It'll take too long if you took that way."

"What do you expect me to—HEY! What are you doing!?" I yelped when he turned into Ryouga and hauled me off the ground.

"Taking the short cut," he said before jumping over the fence.

"KEN!!!!" I screamed as we plummeted to the ground, but he landed perfectly before dropping me to the ground. My heart was racing like crazy as I placed a hand over my chest trying to calm my nerves, but I felt it pulse rapidly.

"I don't get why you're such a chicken shit, it's not like you can't—" I shut him up by kicking him in the gut. My arms aren't fit for attacking, but my legs are different. Fortunately, he turned back to his own face or else I would've just missed and landed on my ass.

"Shut up dumb ass, I don't care if you think I'm chicken shit. I value my life and I won't hazardously jump off high places, unless I'm certain I can land!"

"REOW!" Ranma was charging at us furiously.

"Shit! Ken run!" I shouted to the copy-cat before he transformed into me with blades and disappeared. I was plowed over seconds later with Ranma on my back. I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the painful death he was going give me, but it never came. Instead, I felt something against my face. I cracked an eye open before I realized Ranma was sniffing me. His nose went to my hair before he purred happily, licking my face. "EWW!!! RANMA KNOCK IT OFF!" I tried shoving him off, but he only swatted my hands away and nuzzled my face.

"KYA!!!!" I heard the fan girls squeal in the background.

"Katsuya! Don't move and he won't hurt you!" Genma shouted.

"I don't think Ranma is hurting him." Akane whispered. "I think… He's playing with him."

"GET HIM OFF!" I snarled. Ranma was starting to tug at my hair with his mouth.

I don't fucking care if the mirror show him as my dad. Not even my dad can touch my fucking hair! He's not my mother or my brother! I felt a flare of energy and my chest was no longer pressured against the ground. The cat Ranma had jumped off my back and watching me with interest. I blinked in surprise and looked down, I was floating again. I felt a bubble of excitement, but dropped to the ground again. It wasn't more than an inch, but the fact that I found out the feeling was more than enough.

I sat up from the ground before Ranma pounced on my back again, nuzzling my face. I don't think anyone saw me float. "Can someone please get him off me?" I sighed tiredly.

"You might as well give up. Ranma is going to be like that until he wakes up." Genma commented. "Though… it is a bit curious to why he would calm down by the likes of you." He's not happy. Probably thinking that Ranma turned gay or some other nonsense… I hate old fashion people like him.

"Wonderful…" I murmured before standing up. "I'm taking Ranma home," another series of fan girls screamed. "Akane-san, tell sensei I'm taking Ranma back to the _Tendo_ residence." I stressed the location, not wanting any more misunderstandings from the psycho yaoi fan girls. Ranma was still hanging off my shoulders. I sighed again before pulling his legs up and carried him piggy back style, less stressing than having to drag his ass around. "Saotome-san, would you mind grabbing my blades from the lockers and my bag?"

"Sure," the old bastard is probably thinking of stealing my wallet while he was at it. Dumb ass, I keep my wallet on my person at all times. I won't think of his as my grandfather.

Not that I know my grandfather from my dad's side, he died a year before I was born. Mom told me stories that he wasn't too happy when nee-chan was born, but was ecstatic when my brother was born. Old fucker, good thing he died, if he tried to do what he did to Ranma to my brother. I would fucking kill him right now. Poison him, then burn him and then feed him to the piranhas! I felt a malicious laughter rising before I bellowed out the laughter, scaring whoever that was in the vicinity.

"Reow?" Ranma kitty swatted his paw, er, hand at my head getting me to stop laughing like that.

"What are you my mother?" I snapped.

"Reow!" He hissed and swatted me again.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" I grumbled before he stopped and contented himself with chewing on my hair. If he chews off one strand, I am going to poison his ass the next time he comes over for dinner… I can't kick his ass yet sadly.

"Oh my! What happened?" Kasumi greeted us as we walked into the residence.

"You can ask Saotome-san when he gets back, but for now, can you get him to stop chewing on me hair?" I begged.

"Of course, here kitty, kitty. You're a nice kitty aren't you?" Kasumi's sweet voice distracted Ranma from chewing my hair and padded over to her curiously. She knelt down holding her hand out patiently for him. He sniffed her hand a few times before finally nuzzling his face against her hand. I watched as Kasumi's gentle hands patted him on the head before he climbed into her lap and curled up contently.

"You know, I'm right," I said cheerily.

"Right about what, Katsu-kun?" She smiled warmly.

"You're going to be an awesome mother." I answered before glancing down. "But, it seems like you're not going to be able to cook tonight. You haven't bought the groceries yet right?"

She shook her head. "I was doing laundry when you came back."

"Then dinner's on me tonight. I'll be right back."

"Katsu-kun! Maybe you want to change out of that first." I blinked and glanced down and grimaced. Ranma had slobbered over my uniform and it's a bit filthy from getting pinned to the ground. "There's a clean set of Ranma's clothes in that basket, I haven't gotten a chance to put them away yet." She pointed to the basket near the coffee table.

"Its fine, I'll manage," I said not really wanting to wear Ranma's clothes. Who knows if it'll attract dangerous individuals!

"Katsu-kun," I sighed, unable to resist Kasumi's will and went to change into one of Ranma's red shirts before walking out.

Along the way, it seems like people were mistaking me for Ranma as I passed them by, even the market lady commented to me. Though… I didn't think that Ranma was on speaking terms with them, seeing all the damages he caused around the area each time he fought. Not wanting to bother correcting them or having the truancy after my ass. I just went along with it and let them think I was Ranma. The truancy is terrified of Ranma to my amusement for the day. However, I didn't notice the trouble that pretending to be Ranma brought until much later.

"HOTCHA! WHAT A HAUL! WHAT A HAUL!"

I grimaced when Happosai rounded around the corner with a mob of girls after him. I jumped onto the fence to avoid the passing mob, though a bit shaky, my sense of balance isn't the best. At the size of the mob, I don't think I'll be able to use the ground for a while. Sighing in irritation, decided to attempt trekking the rest of the way back to the Tendo's via fences. Not before _accidentally _dropping a fruit along the way. The old fucker took the bait and jumped for the food. Grandpa did always say wasting food was a bad thing.

The moment he jumped for it, the girls batted him to the ground with a metal bat and promptly mauled him to their hearts content. I grinned in accomplishment as I trekked back to the Tendo's to prepare the dinner. I found Kasumi and Ranma napping in the living room, which was pretty cute. A very cute pair! By the time Genma and Soun came back, I was done with the cooking and had everything wrapped up neatly for Kasumi to serve later.

"Thank you for all your help Katsuya-kun!" Genma bellowed with laughter.

I took my things from Genma without paying much attention to him. "Tendo-san, I suggest the two of you not disturb Ranma until he wakes up on his own." I pulled on the laces tightly before quickly tying them together. "Kasumi-san should be able to handle him until then." I stood up and tapped at the toe to make sure my foot was completely in.

"Where are you going? You're not going to stay for dinner?" Soun asked.

"I have something to do today, maybe another time." As much as I love to watch what happens next, I need all the time I can get to practice. Now that I know how it's supposed to feel to float, I need to practice until my body memorizes this feeling. Who knows, I might actually learn how to fly! How cool is that!?

I somewhat wished Shiyu was around to help me out with this practice. Even if she can't fly, we can probably bounce ideas off of each other until one worked... Though, she would probably shove me off the roof the first time to try to shock me into floating and catch me the last second if I couldn't. She has done this before when training me to land properly after jumping from quite a height. Of course, that usually leads to her disjointing her arm, since she couldn't pull much weight. It's very disturbing to see her pop the limb back into its socket without even a grimace of pain. Either she's used to it, or she's very good at hiding the agony of doing that.

"Katsuya!" I was so distracted from my thoughts, I hadn't noticed I gotten myself lost, I can probably backtrack and find my way back… Given, I don't give in to my urge to turn at a corner, thinking it's a short cut.

"Ryouga-kun, it's been a while," I greeted the lost boy as I halted my blades.

"A bit strange to see you in Osaka," he commented.

"We're in Nerima, Ryouga-kun," I responded dryly.

It's not uncommon for me to bump into him as of late. We ended up back at my apartment, another place that seems to be attracting Ranma and Ryouga for a long while. Unfortunately, on our way back, Ken decided it was a good time to attack me again. He ended up flying off quite a distance away when Ryouga punched him. Poor Ken, I hope he's not too hurt from that. Must've hurt like a bitch to get hit by Ryouga with my face.

"I guess dinner at my place?" What else could I have said in this situation?

o.o.o.o.o

I didn't get much practice in since Ryouga visited, but I did get a good sparring match. With Ryouga holding back a whole lot while doing so, but nonetheless it was a good experience. Yep, I'm completely out classed by these martial arts monsters. Since no sign of Shiyu, I'm getting a bit worried. Sure, she's a defective vampire, but who knows what can kill her. Maybe I'm thinking about this a bit too much, she'll eventually turn up… Crap, I got attached to someone!

I groaned as I bladed down the familiar path to school. Why do I bother with this stupid thing anyway? It's not like my grades counts for here; I could be using this time for something more productive like FINDING A WAY HOME! I sighed dejectedly before screeching to a halt. The ground was littered with paper. Actually, the whole Furinkan campus was littered with paper raining from the sky. Absently, I snatched on from mid-air before glancing at its content.

"Oh no…" I groaned, faintly hearing Happosai's cackle from somewhere. On the flier, written in bold letters, Ranma is weak. "It's too early for this," I grumbled irritably before rolling through the campus.

"HAHA! Foul apprentice sorcerer! Today Tatewaki Kuno shall vanquish you as I did to your master!"

"Shut the fuck up! I'm not in the mood!" I snarled, slapping his bokken aside with my fan and kneeing him in the crotch.

I'm starting to like that move a lot. Who cares if it's low and dirty move? It's effective for weaklings like me… but I guess it's not that pathetic if I managed to hit him there. I see improvement! YAY! I can match Kuno's speed… now what good would that do me when the crazy defective vampire can still run around like Hiei? At least she doesn't hit hard… but still hits the same spot repetitively… she can probably give the amazons a run for their money.

"Katsuya-kun, have you seen—"

"No," I scowled at Akane as I jumped over Kuno and continued to roll into school. She followed me, once I was in school the dark cloud lifted. "Alright, tell me what happened."

Akane gave me the quick story. Apparently, Happosai had mistaken me for Ranma the day before and decided to punish Ranma by putting the moxa burn on his back. At the moment, neither Akane nor Ranma knows why he's weak. Not that I'll bother correcting the little cretin, but I do feel a little bad for having that old bastard after him. However, I'm not going to willingly give up my lack of strength in exchange for Ranma, I'm not that chauvinistic. Ranma had a little run in with Kuno and is now missing.

"Missing? How could he be missing?" I asked dumbly. "Where's Ukyo-san?'

"We split up to look for Ranma," Akane answered. "But we still can't find him anywhere!" I think she was getting near to tears.

"I'll find him, why don't you go get Ukyo and go back to class?" I suggested before she left.

I rubbed my temple in irritation; I can feel a headache coming on. I groaned before closing my eyes in concentration. My chi sensing range isn't that large, probably covers the size of an average classroom... Maybe I should start with the campus first. Who knows if he was knocked out of the building when Kuno was kicking him around, I'll bitch if he made me search this damn school and he's not in it.

"Come out, come out," I sang under my breath as I waved my hands about. I found out that by extending my arm away from my body, I could get a few more feet in my range… though I'm sure I look ridiculous doing so. "Troublesome ass, I can't believe this guy is going to be my father." I grumbled and stalked across the campus before catching a familiar chi, finally!

Damn asshole; now let's see where the heck he was hiding. I opened my eyes and blinked in surprise. He was hiding in the trees near the gymnasium.

"Oi, what the heck are you doing up there moron?" the insult flew out of my mouth before I even notice.

"Katsu?" his broken voice questioned.

"Come on, let's go back to class, Akane-san and Ukyo-san is worried." I said, waiting patiently on the ground. "Come on!" He didn't move… great, I have an emo-king to deal with. "You know I'm not allowed to cut class. Are you sure you want me to get in trouble with the authorities again?" My mom's guilt trips usually make me feel bad for a week.

"…"

Damn, I guess it doesn't work for me. "I heard what happened. Are you going to sulk there all day?"

"… What else can I do?" he muttered.

"Ranma Saotome is worthless then," I sighed and turned to leave.

"What did you say!?" he jumped down and grabbed the collar of my uniform.

"If you're not worthless, you won't be sulking here and actually go find a way around this. Idiot," I said before flicking his forehead and watching him flip into the tree. "See?"

"I'm not worthless!" He jumped and flipped back onto the ground; in his fury he punched me with his roasted chestnut fist. I waited until he was done, Shiyu hits harder than he does.

"Are you done?" I asked. He cursed and kicked at the tree angrily. Should I pity him? He hopped around before going into another cursing fit. I sighed and scratched the side of my face. "I think I heard of something similar to this before."

He stopped hopping around and grabbed me by the arms. "YES!? WHERE!? WHEN!?" He shook me.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I heard it was something about points on the body that can affect bodily usage. Maybe if you find the counter point, you can get back your strength."

"YES! We're going to Tofu sensei," he tried to pull me along with him, but he ended up jolting and landing to the ground.

"You forgot that you don't have enough strength to pull me along anymore didn't you?" I asked dryly.

"Yes," he said dejectedly.

"Come on, we can go to Tofu sensei AFTER classes." I stressed before hauling his ass to class.

Of course, with his luck, we never even made it to the school's entrance when Kuno attacked again. I barely pulled my fans out in time to block a strike. Man, I love the materials I have for my fan! It's nearly unbreakable to people like Kuno.

"You apprentice! Stand aside! My business is with the foul sorcerer!" Kuno declared.

"You are so fucking annoying!" I hissed struggling to push his bokken back. "Why don't you be a man and attack Ranma when he could fight back?" For some reason, I felt a chill run up my spine as I said this… I later found out the fan girls had witness the whole ordeal and was screaming their psychotic little heads off.

"Ranma Saotome!" Mousse shouted as he charged down to attack him.

"Ah damn it!" I grunted before forcibly shoving Kuno aside and snapped my fans open to slap Mousse's weapons aside. "Ranma, run!" I shouted.

"Don't get in the way foul apprentice!" I didn't have a chance to block the attack. The last thing I remember before blacking out was the pain behind my head. Shit… So much for playing hero.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ugh…" I groaned like a zombie as I rolled over to the edge and hurled. "So dizzy…"

"Ah, you're awake. You're becoming a regular here Shinochi-kun," commented a familiar voice cheerily.

"Tendo sempai, please not now," I groaned and groggily opened my eyes… So I'm in the hospital this time. I wonder if Harry Potter feels this shitty getting sent to the hospital wing so often.

"You should've seen Ryouga when he saw you get knocked down. He was completely berserk." I peeked an eye open to see Nabiki frowning. Why would Ryouga go berserk at the sight of my bloodied self? Strange…

I sat up with a grunt running a hand to the pressure against my head before brushing against bandages. "What the—"

"You were bleeding; Kuno-chan hit you pretty hard."

"Crazy martial artists…" I winced and held my head with both hands hissing when my vision started to double and shake.

"I wouldn't suggest moving anytime soon with your condition." She smirked.

"Ugh…" I gently lowered myself back onto the pillows before pulling my arm over my eyes. "How does Ranma take all those hits from Shampoo and Akane-san?" I lowered my arm and glanced over to Nabiki. "Um… Tendo sempai, may I ask why you're here?"

She covered her mouth in amusement; her eyes glinting with schemes and plots behind them… I'm scared. "Let's just say you're not the only one that got sent to the infirmary." I blinked before she stood up from her seat and pulled open the curtain.

My eyes widened. "Did Ryouga— Oh my— Are they okay?" I stuttered sitting up in a hurry, but quickly regret it as I swayed from the dizzy spell.

"I'm surprised you're not angry with them," she commented.

I didn't dare shake off the dizzy spell, it would only bring another. "Irritated and probably a little annoyed, but not angry to the point to see them in this condition! What the heck did Ryouga do?" Before me was Kuno and Mousse's thoroughly battered bodies, I'm surprised that they're not sent to the hospital in their conditions. Kuno seems to have a lot of punctured skin on his face, somewhat similar to splinter holes. Mousse on the other hand had his arm in a sling.

"Like I said, Ryouga went berserk when he saw you fall to the ground with a puddle of blood slowly oozing from your head. Kuno got the blunt of the damages. By the time he started with Mousse, Ranma was trying his best to stop him, until Cologne came. They're still cleaning the blood from the campus grounds."

"Blood?" I gapped. Sure, there's a bloody lip or a spit of blood in the series, but not to the extent that they need to clean up. "Where's Ryouga now?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Cologne blasted him away with some strange tornado."

"I see…" I glanced over to Kuno and Mousse again. Even if they're moronic assholes… I don't think I'd like the fact they almost died. "Are they going to be okay?"

"You're really a strange one Shinochi."

I gave a shrug. "You're not the first to say it." I glanced at her questioningly.

"They'll be fine with some rest. It's not that bad, I've seen them in worst conditions before. These knuckleheads get sent here almost once every few weeks." She said before pulled the curtains close from me. "Just get some rest."

"Tendo sempai…"

"What?"

I grinned brightly. "You're just a big softy under that ice queen façade you show, aren't you?"

"What?!" She spluttered.

I pulled the covers over my head before slowing my breath down to a soft pattern to feign sleep. She continued to splutter indignantly before huffing out in irritation. I smiled against the cover. I think I know who Nabiki might be in my time, Ryu-chan's mother. Abi oba-san… the scariest woman I'll ever meet, but is actually quite nice… if you ever manage to get over your initial fear of her… I still get scared shitless by her the last few times I went to visit Ryu-chan. Maybe it's not so unbelievable after all… She left with a comment about making me pay later, but I'm not too worried about it. At most I'll just take her out for a nice dinner.

It took the whole day and a half for my chi to close up the injury Kuno dealt to my head; it was an angry bruise once it was closed up. Despite draining my chi to heal my head, I still feel migraines even in my sleep. Ranma hadn't appeared that night. Should I get worried? Ah… my head hurts too much to care… Maybe some sleep would make it better… Yeah, sleep sounds nice… Good night.

o.o.o.o.o

"KATSUYA-KUN!" I cringed at the loud voice, holding my ears, trying to get it to stop ringing.

I sat up from my bed with a hideous scowl over my face before grabbing my alarm clock. My tired eyes twitched. "WHO THE FUCK WOKE ME UP AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR!?" I snapped before turning to the culprit… Akane… what the fuck does she want!?

"No time to waste Katsuya-kun! Ranma is missing!" She said as she rummaged through my drawers and tossed a set of clothing in my face.

I yanked the clothing off my face. "Akane-san, do I want to know why you're at my house five am in the morning" I growled groggily.

"Ranma is missing!!!! Kasumi 'nee-chan said Uncle Saotome took Ranma for some training." She ranted panicking while she paced around my house.

"Why don't you go alone then?" I grumbled and pulled the covers over my head.

"What if Ranma gets attacked? I can't handle them myself!"

"Then go get Ryouga, he won't hurt Ranma at his pathetic state right now," I murmured tiredly, nearly falling asleep again.

She yanked away my fluffy blanket, fucking bitch! "I can't find him anywhere, Ukyo is missing too!"

"My head hurts, leave me alone!" I whined as I sat up.

"Come on Katsuya-kun, Ranma could be in trouble!" She hauled me up and dragged me to the bathroom before shoving me in with the pile of clothes. I'm very curious to why she's not bothered by my morning cursing fit. "I know you're not a morning person, so I'll make you some breakfast."

I froze. "Akane-san! It's probably best to go as soon as possible. I'll get something to eat along the way!" I don't think I've ever gotten ready as fast as this. I barely had enough time to pack myself a bag of supplies before she dragged me out from my apartment… Life sucks.

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsuya-kun! Hurry up!" Akane cupped the sides of her mouth to shout at me.

"You've got to be kidding me," I huffed tiredly as I trekked up the mountain after her. Normally, going up a mountain isn't tiring, since mom and dad often took the whole family to camping and hiking trips… but Akane wants to search every inch of the mountain before she's happy. "Forget it! I need a break! I'll be useless if Ranma's in trouble if I'm tired."

"Katsuya!" Akane stomped her foot angrily.

"GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I glanced up just a second before a body plowed me into the ground.

"Someone please end my misery…" I moaned.

"Ranma! Uncle Saotome! Ukyo!" Akane shouted before running back to me.

"Old hag! I'm going to kick your ass!" Ranma snapped before crawling off me to run off.

I grabbed the back of his shirt before yanking him back. "Where the heck do you think you're going!?" I snapped.

"Hey Katsu! You're better!" he grinned.

"I see you're better." I grumbled.

"The old hag is going to teach me something awesome! Finally a way to kick that bastard's ass and get the cure!" He immediately ran off.

"Wait— Ugh…" I pinched the bridge of my nose, that headache is coming back again.

"What is he talking about?" Akane asked Ukyo.

We found out Cologne was teaching him the Rising Dragon. Once Cologne explained the basics and set up the movements for Ranma, it was an all day fest of training for the soul of ice. I covered my mouth snickering at the photos Genma was showing to us. It's just too rude to laugh out loud in his face… maybe I'll do it at a later time to tease him. Eventually he manages to keep his cool, but it's still quite amusing.

"All right! Let's start the training!" Ranma cheered.

"Not so fast, son-in-law," Cologne said. "You won't be able to master the Rising Dragon."

"WHAT!? Then what was the point of the Soul of Ice!?"

"I never thought you would be able to master it," she cackled before getting serious again. "You won't be able to master it because you don't have a sparring partner. None of them can fight at your caliber and you don't want to hurt them either."

"Damn it!" Ranma cursed.

"Unless…" I froze when she turned her attention to me. "Your friend here is willing to show his prowess in martial arts."

"Katsu? Old hag, are you out of you mind!? Katsu can't even beat Kuno! Kuno busted his head open just yesterday!" Ranma argued.

"Ah, but if he was seriously injured, how is it that he's moving so casually without an ounce of pain?" Everyone turned their attention to me. "Maybe your friend is hiding more than you think." Aw shit, this fucking old hag is going to get me killed. "Well, sonny, are you willing to get serious and help Ranma?"

I grinned weakly. "Elder, you can't be serious. I really can't fight!"

"Then may I ask the shadow in your style to fight with him?" My shadow? SHIT! She means Shiyu, how the hell did she see Shiyu in me? I haven't copied her style… at least I don't think I did.

"Katsu?" Ranma placed a hand on my shoulder before I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Well young man? Are you going to help Ranma?" Cologne asked.

"I…" I sighed, hopefully, Ryouga will come out soon. "Fine… But I'm telling you now, my attacks aren't that good." Ranma found himself in restraints moments later.

I shouldn't have agreed. I found myself standing in front of Ranma with my fans out and ready. My heart was racing; my mind knew that I won't be able to beat Ranma even in this state. I took a deep breath before wiping my mind clear of those thoughts. Just think of it as a sparring match with Shiyu, and try not to get my ass kicked. I charged forward without a word, jabbing my fan at Ranma. He dodged as expected; I drew my arm back and strike again, my fan snapped open and swatted at Ranma's. He dodged with merely centimeters from the weapon. Left step, right step, front step, bend low, upper cut, low kick, jump and leg sweep. I felt very light… Before I did my next attack, Ranma was knocked in the head with Colognes staff.

"What the heck was that for old hag!?" he snapped angrily.

"WHAT'S THIS!? You're not even going in a spiral!" she pointed furiously before turning to me. "You're not suitable to be Ranma's sparring partner!"

"Hey! Katsu was doing fine!" Ranma argued.

"Look at the floor," Cologne said simply. The ground was littered with random steps, no where near a spiral, but more importantly… my steps… were strange. Ranma's steps were clearly noted on the ground. Mine would always be towards his right or towards his left, never in front of him and occasionally, my steps seems to be missing entirely. It doesn't seem like Ranma was purposely making extra steps without me either. "I would like to talk to you later in private young man," she said to me.

"ARGH! I don't see what's the problem!" he grumbled.

"His style is not an offensive style," Cologne answered.

"Non-offensive?" Ranma frowned.

"He won't be able to produce the hot chi needed for the Rising Dragon to work. His style is passive and for defense, it's almost similar to the soul of ice you were practicing." She glanced at me again. "I've known one other person that uses that style, but it's been a long time."

"So I need someone that fights offensively. Damn it! Where am I going to find that!?" Ranma punched the ground furiously.

"Heh, pathetic. So this is how the great Ranma Saotome falls." Ryouga has finally arrived. A bantering went between Ranma and Ryouga before the later agreed to help Ranma complete the Rising Dragon.

It was quite a while before the completion of the move, Cologne can tell just as well. She left them with utmost instructions before dragging me away from the group. "Now tell me young man, what relation are you to that vampire?"

Yep, Shiyu must've been a sloppy eater even back then. "I'm—"

"Don't lie sonny, I can see her very clearly in your moves."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "Not exactly sure of the relations. She just found a strange interest in teaching me." I think I'm getting better at lying… I think.

"A strange interest? What sort?"

"I don't know! She's—"

"Don't lie to me boy!" She snapped.

I bit my lower lip. "She's Ranma's guardian from his mother's side. She chose to train me because I can get close without suspicion."

She frowned. "But your style isn't offensive. While you may have copied some of her movements, but it would be useless to you since you don't feed on blood."

"Pardon?" I blinked.

"When you were fighting, I've noticed your head brush past Ranma's neck quite often. This method would intimidate most people since it's invading another's personal space." Ah, right… People of this time are still quite conservative. Being part of my generation, closeness isn't much of a problem, the problem is getting them to stop being so close.

I shrugged. "She pretty much got me used to it, I guess."

"Why hasn't she fed on you?"

"My blood doesn't suit her taste," I shrugged. "How did you know her?" I asked curiously.

"She was often around one of the best restaurants in the village. We've tried many times to vanquish her, but she always seems to be able to slip out of our grasp each try. It wasn't until a foreign man came, that she was willing to leave."

"A foreign man?" I wonder if it's her turner.

"I don't know much about them, just that he was urging her to go somewhere. Speaking of which, where is that blood-sucker?"

"I don't know she's been missing for the past few days."

"Well—"

"DAMN IT!" Ranma's curse interrupted our conversation.

"Maybe we should leave this for another time Elder," I said before hurrying towards Ranma's. I don't know what I should tell her.

Ryouga couldn't pull out hot chi; he can't treat Ranma as a rival while he was so weak. So, we're at another road block until Ryouga can get over this… Maybe this is what leads to the careless attacks he pulls on Ranma later. They've decided to take the night off to rest before trying again next morning. I found myself sitting near the fire drowsily waiting for the completion of the move. My memory maybe horrible, but I can remember the move being completed during the night due to some misunderstanding between Ryouga and Ranma… something with Akane and torn clothes… I sighed, no wonder Ryouga went nuts.

"Katsu, why aren't you asleep yet?" I glanced up with drooping eyelids. "You're obviously tired, just go to sleep."

I shook my head. "I'm not ti—" I covered my mouth and yawned, "Tired yet."

"And you call me a moron," Ranma laughed and plopped down on the ground next to me. "How's your head?"

"I've had better days, still have some headaches though." I answered, I wonder where Akane is. "Where's Akane-san?"

"She's pissed off that I won't eat her cooking." He answered.

I blinked, "So where's Ryouga?" I asked. Ranma is pretty much screwed now, without Akane to piss off Ryouga.

"Not really sure, he disappeared off to somewhere again." He sighed dejectedly.

"Ah don't worry; he'll turn up again sooner or later." I said rubbing the side of my head.

"Still hurts?"

"A little… Hey Ranma, what would you do if you're no longer martial artist?"

"WHAT?!" He grabbed me by the collar.

"I meant if you couldn't get that chart from Happosai." I corrected immediately, I'm not afraid of him attacking me right now, but more of his voice. Ow, my head.

"I'll get that chart you hear me!? I'll never stay weak damn it! I can't stay weak!" He snapped furiously.

"But at this rate, you'll never master the Rising Dragon without Ryouga going all out on you. I'm just asking. Why are you getting so defensive about it?" I pulled his hand off my shirt, e became quiet. "You're afraid aren't you?"

"I'm not afraid!" he snapped again.

"You are," I repeated firmly. "You're afraid that no one would care who the hell you are because you're no longer outstanding at something." I blinked at my own words. When the hell did I become a shrink? "If you want to know, there is still one person that cares even if you can't be the best anymore."

He laughed bitterly. "Like who?"

"Kasumi-san," I answered before throwing another log into the burning ciders. "I heard that she told Akane to go check on you." I pondered for a moment. "Ranma, have you ever considered to choose Kasumi-san as your fiancée?"

He spluttered. "WHAT!? What makes you say that? Besides, Kasumi likes Tofu sensei!"

"Who said? You never even asked who she likes," I added.

"But she'll get attacked by—"

"Who would actually hurt Kasumi-san? She's too sweet for that. If you don't have martial arts, it's more likely she'll be able to protect you. And if you have your martial arts back, you can defend her with no problem."

"Shut up Katsu!" he snapped before smacking me behind the head.

My vision doubled and stumbled forward, nearly plowing my face into the flame if someone didn't catch me. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING RANMA!?" I blacked out after that… I think I need to start wearing a helmet or a Naruto forehead protector for the back of my head. Who are you to judge how I use those things!? People could use it for cupping their crotch for football for all you know… or shin guards if you don't have as disturbed of an imagination as me for item usage.

o.o.o.o.o

I woke up to a nice scent of food. "What smells so good?" I said sleepily before sitting up. I found myself in a futon and a wet towel falling off my head.

"Katsu-kun, I'm glad you're awake." Kasumi's sweet voice greeted me. "You gave everyone a fright when Uncle Saotome came back with you in his arms. Here, I made you some congee."

I accepted it gratefully. "I'm fine." I took a sip and nearly moaned at the deliciousness of it, exactly like mom's cooking. "Where's Ranma?"

"He went out earlier with Akane to go after Grandpa Happosai." She answered before moving to change my bandages. "You should really be more careful."

"It's not like I'm purposely trying to get hurt," I said before taking another spoonful of Kasumi's wonderful cooking.

"Do you think they'll manage to get the chart? I hope Ranma-kun doesn't get too hurt from it." She said gently as she tied the bandage off.

"I think he'll do fine." Just as I said it, Ranma came through the window with a sulk and went off to pack his things. I remained silent as I watched Kasumi try to comfort him.

After a moment, I decided to take the bowl to the kitchen and finish it there. He'll get healed eventually, why bother when I could spend my sweet time finishing the delicious home cooking I missed so much. A scream of pain came about fifteen minutes later before followed closely by the scream of joy… then a series of crashes and destruction of things... I sighed as I washed the empty bowl and set it to dry. Better go tell Ranma to stop before he decides to destroy this house and move onto mine.

"KATSU! I'M BETTER! LOOK!" he said before promptly breaking the chair.

"Ranma, don't you think that's quite enough already? Kasumi-san is going to have to clean up the mess later. You really don't want to give her extra work do you?" He stopped immediately. Ah, so the guilt trip only works for Kasumi's person or from her mouth… Man, I really wish mom would teach me how to do that.

"Right…" he murmured.

"Well, now that you're better you should go thank Ryouga-kun, he did help you after all." I said before crossing my arms. "But hearing that you completed the move, you probably blasted him off somewhere."

He laughed sheepishly. "Um… sorry?"

"Don't say that to me; say that to Ryouga-kun when you see him… Now excuse me as I go home and sleep for the next half a century. My head is killing me." He looked guilty for that. "It's nothing Ranma, don't think much on it. Just stop destroying the house and help Kasumi-san. Later." I said as I left.

"On guard!" I dodged at the sound of my own voice before raising my fan to block. At least this part of the day isn't as stressing as the rest of it… stupid Nerimian luck.

o.o.o.o.o

"NO! I don't want to go!" I screamed from Ranma's shoulder trying to kick him the whole time, but he caught my legs.

"Katsuya-kun, it's just the hot springs, why are you so against it?" Akane asked me. "Besides, it's to repay you for helping us out so often."

"I accept your gratitude, but there's no need to take me to the hot springs! It's expensive, I'm sensitive to heat, I break out in rashes, I start decaying and—!" I started throwing out a bunch of rubbish, not even caring anymore. I need to stop them from taking me there at all costs.

"Grow up Shinochi, it's just a hot spring, it won't hurt you." Nabiki grinned.

There are two reasons why I don't want to go to this hot spring trip! One, obviously, I don't want them to find out I'm a girl or they'll kick my ass. Two, the heir to this creepy ass hot spring spot is a lame ass idiot that needs to get laid. There is no way in hell I'm getting my ass kidnapped by his lame ass.

"WHERE AM I NOW!?" Fuck, Ryouga's here, which means we're getting closer.

"Ah, Ryouga-kun!" Akane chirped happily. "Want to go to the hot springs with us? You can help drag Katsuya-kun with us."

"Ryouga-kun! Have mercy! Don't let them take me!" I whined to my fellow Jusenkyo cursed buddy… but of course he doesn't know I'm cursed.

"Sure Akane-san!" he said with a stupid grin. DAMN IT RYOUGA!

Ranma chuckled. "Face it Katsu, you're not getting out of this."

"Shut up Ranma," I elbowed him in the head, but he continued to laugh.

Since we had so many people we ended up getting three rooms instead of the original two. Guess who I'm sharing with? Yep, Ranma and Ryouga… I am so taking the futon closest to the door.

"Katsu, come on! Let's go to the hot springs!" Ranma said as he grabbed my arm.

You know those old American cartoons where the animal character digs their nails into the ground in an attempt to stay put, but gets dragged off against their will anyway? Yeah, that's how I feel. "I'll go later! At least let me unpack first! Why don't you go with Ryouga, Tendo-san and Saotome-san?" I protested. I'm doing anything to postpone it.

"Come on, it's no fun to go alone." Ranma crossed his arms.

"I'll go later! Just let me unpack, please?" I begged.

"Oh fine… Who wants to go in with the three old men anyway? I'll just to get Ryouga and the three of us can go later!" Ranma said before darting out of the room. I bit back a scream as I dropped my head to the tatami mats on the ground. Please stop torturing me, whoever is up there.

At least I have sometime to plan of how to not go in… Hmm… Maybe I can say I have diarrhea? Who would want to share a hot soak with someone with a running ass leak? I grinned happily at the thought. I can stay in the bathroom for a while and try to fart up a storm or something… Damn, this is the one few times I wish I can fart on demand… that is seriously one of the coolest useless abilities. I'm serious; there are people that can fart on demand.

But… Just to be safe, I think I'll just run away. I held back a cackle, as I shouldered my bag and peeked out in the hall. Going out this way would be obvious for them to think of me, but I still have to make sure that they're not around. Closing the door quietly, I snuck towards the window to peek around outside. That is also an obvious exit, better to be safe than sorry, I had to check it too. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I forced myself to float up to the ceiling to push the loose panels aside to climb into its empty space. Don't you just love the beauty of old buildings?

Grabbing hold of the edge I pulled my self through before setting myself gently on the pillars. The danger of old buildings is that they're fragile, so if I'm planning to escape via ceiling space I have to be continually careful as I go about the place. I placed the panel back into its original spot before I started to crawl around the pillars and beams of support. Let me tell you, it's harder than how I make it sound. This way requires a lot of upper body strength as you have to drag yourself around by your wrists and elbows and there's not a lot of space for your legs to move.

Every now and then, I'll place my ear against the surface to listen for what area of the building I'm in before continuing, but without a map or even seeing where I'm going, it's going to be a while before I can get out of here... especially with my sense of direction… I mentally sighed as I went on. Eventually, I finally hit a wall. That is definitely a good sign; I'll just feel around until I find a loose panel. It took a while, but I found one and knocked it open… and promptly falling out of it. I cursed loudly when I saw the steam from the hot spring.

"FUUUUUUUUCCCCKKK!!!" I screamed as I landed just inches from the spring.

I scrambled away in a hurry, holding a hand to my erratically pulsing heart. That was close, just a little more and I would've landed in its hot glory. At least there weren't anyone around. The sky has already darkened… I must've spent a lot of time in the ceiling space than I originally though. At least I'm out in the open; I'll just escape from the back of the springs and round to the front before running back to the path we came from. A little hiking and camping can't hurt me.

"Katsu! There you are!" FUCK! WHO THE HELL HATES ME UP THERE?!

"Hey…" I grinned weakly and the towel clad form of Ryouga and Ranma.

"Trying to get away are you?" the two grinned. I found myself stripped of clothing a moment later before tossed into the spring with the two laughing.

I kept myself under the hot water for a while, until I can't stand the heat anymore. I surface my head, but kept the rest of my body below the water. They continued to laugh, not knowing my change.

"How's the water?" Ryouga grinned.

"Come on! You really think you can run from us? At least enjoy the hot springs!" Ranma quipped.

"Nothing to say, Katsuya?" Ryouga added.

"Come on, let's go in!" Ranma said.

"DON'T YOU TO FUCKING DARE COME IN!" I screamed just before they decided to touch the water with their feet. They froze completely. I raised a hand to hold onto my throat. I forgot my guy side had a very deep voice compared to my girl voice.

"Katsu you're a…" Ranma's eyes widened.

"Girl!" Ryouga squeaked as his face flushed.

I sank down deeper into the water. "Don't just stand there! Hand me that would you?" Remember when I said someone up there really hates me? I'm changing my mind. They don't hate me. They fucking want to kill me.

Surprisingly, Ryouga hadn't fainted yet. Ranma rushed off to get me a robe; he left it at the edge before turning away with Ryouga. I grabbed the fluffy garment before slipping it on and quickly tying a tight knot on it before crossing my arms tightly against my chest. They were still gapping, uncertain what to think of the whole situation.

"Can we go somewhere else for your questions? And can you please get me some cold water?" I mumbled. I refused to relax until I got my douse of cold water. Once male and properly clothed, we were seated in our room with the two sitting quite a distance from me. "Well jack asses, just because you found out I'm a chick you're going to treat me like the plague?"

"Uh… So how long were you cursed?" Ranma asked.

"Obviously since I came back from China dumb ass, any other intellectual questions?" I grumbled.

"Why did you remain as a guy the whole time?" Ryouga asked. Damn it, why does he have to be smart?

"Haven't you noticed? I live alone; it's not safe for a girl to live alone! Besides, with Ranma crashing into my place almost every night, had they known I was a girl, his fiancées would come and murder me." I retorted.

"What happened to your family?" Ranma asked.

I became quiet… how the hell do I answer that one without lying and them finding out it's a lie? God damn it, I wish I can lie better. "Ranma, it's obvious they're dead, don't make her live through those memories," Ryouga hissed. Okay, jumping to conclusions work too. "So what made you not interested in Ranma compared to the other girls?"

I snorted as Ranma glanced up with interest. "No offense Ranma, but I prefer a guy with a brain and not obsessed over martial arts." Ryouga cracked up laughing at my comment. "And if you try to get me to date you right now, I'm going to tell that crazy fan club you're planning to elope with Kuno. You're a friend, but I'm not going to let your silly superiority complex get trailing my ass."

"You use really crud words for a girl." Ryouga commented.

"And act like Ukyo and Shampoo after Ranma's ass? Hell no! I have more self-respect than that."

"Hey!" Ranma protested, but I just stuck my tongue out childishly at him.

"Besides, if I acted like a girl, I wouldn't be able to pass off as a guy for as long as I have. You guys didn't even think I was a girl until you dropped me in the water," I cackled. Both of them flushed at that memory. I snickered. "Don't let it bother you, you didn't see anything. There's not much for you to see anyway, with Ranma's female side, my body can't compare."

"Erm…" the two shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm not offended, yeesh, stop treating me like you would treat Akane or the others. I'm still Katsu. It's awkward if you treat me like a girl anyway. Just keep my secret okay? I don't want to deal with the trouble yet." The two reluctantly agreed.

"RANMA!!!!! KASUMI HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!!!!" we all jolted up at Soun's cry.

Fuck, the lame ass heir attacked. "We'll have to continue this later, let's go."

We hurried out and badgered the caretaker of the place to give us all the information. Akane and Nabiki was taken next, Ranma decided to make himself the bait, since he and Ryouga promised that my secret won't be revealed. I can't do anything of use, since the lame heir uses hot water to attack. I could only watch on the sidelines as Ranma and Ryouga both went at him. Unfortunately, I was still a bit close and got drenched with a blast of hot water.

The two looked at me in horror before I was snatched. However, before the lame heir managed to get away, the two bashed him over the head and ceased his attacks with hot water. Ranma quickly dumped cold water over me before Genma and Soun arrived. Talk about pulling it close. We found Kasumi and the others stowed away in the bushes later. After many apologies from the caretaker and a good talking with Nabiki, we were finally left at peace to enjoy of what was left of this little trip. And since the two of them found out my secret, what better ways to use them, than to have them stand guard while I take a nice long soak. Of course, during the night, they sleep furthest away from me, giving me a whole lot of rolling space. I hope Shiyu comes back soon because I really don't know what to do after this revelation of my secret.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: W00T! Finished! And a freaking long chapter as well!

Koganei: Not much to say than FRI!


	10. Chapter 10

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"Nice to meet you," I greeted him, but blinked in confusion at the glare he was giving me. What did I ever do to him?

**Chapter Ten: Voodoo, Shadow attack and a New Fiancé!?**

"Shiyu where are you?" I thought out of boredom as I practiced one weekend outside of Nerima.

One to get away from Ranma and Ryouga, those two are driving me nuts! They're trying their best to treat me like a girl and it's not helping. Either they're trying not to offend me or they're getting over protective over the most ridiculous things. Oh, how I wish I can pull Akane's trick and pull out a mallet to send them to kingdom come. Two, to practice on flight and three… to attempt materializing a weapon like Akane…

At the moment I cannot manage the materialization, BUT! I managed to float! I managed to float! Can't you just hear the mocking tone I'm singing to that phrase? Floating wasn't the hard part, I can get myself to float anytime I want now since I know how it feels and it doesn't even take a thought to send me up, just the mere feeling of want and I'll float. The only problem is that I can't fly yet. I can propel myself forward, but it's usually shaky and unstable, occasionally I'll fall to the ground after a while too. The farthest I've gotten was probably three meters.

I sighed dejectedly as I plopped down to the ground for a break and stared up to the cloud filled sky. I'm not getting anywhere with this crap attempt of self-training and I have no way to get back until Shiyu returns with that mirror fixed. I'm guessing she took it to get repaired or something. Now my other problem, Shiyu said there was a purpose for me to be sent back here or else the mirror wouldn't be set up the way it's supposed to be.

"When can I go home?" I groaned and flailed my arms and legs about childishly hoping for someone to answer my question out of nowhere. Some cool dragons like Avatar or some awesome geek/nerdy friend that builds you awesome costumes and equipment, but no, I get a lousy defective vampire guardian that's missing for about a week with my ticket home and I have a weird copycat attacking me nearly everyday. I guess divine intervention from the anime world does not apply to me. "Screw this; I'm going to my apartment." It's a bit hard to call that place home, especially with the chaos that occurs there.

Just as I walked in after a two hour ride back by train, I was met with a frantic Ranma raiding my fridge. "KATSU!!! Finally you're home! I was getting a little worried since—"

"Shut up and don't even dare finish that thought. I look like a guy and I act like a guy and I won't get molested or taken advantaged by another guy while still in this form. What the hell do you want, say it now or get out."

"But—"

"I'll get Akane-san to start cooking you lunch again," I warned. He immediately shut up. "Now what is it that you're here for?" I rubbed my temple from the oncoming headache before moving to pour myself a glass of milk.

"The engagement got switched to Nabiki." Ranma said.

"Why not Kasumi-san?" I asked curiously as I took a sip.

"Did you not hear what I just said!? NABIKI!" he shouted.

"And I asked why not Kasumi-san?" I said before plopping down on the pillow across from him. "I wouldn't worry about it; Nabiki isn't serious about this whole thing. She just wants to make a quick yen from you and Akane. She'll try to get out of it if you act like the relationship is actually serious."

"But Akane…"

"Needs to grow up and not get pissed off at every little thing other people do. I think you guys are just letting her get away too easy with this." I grabbed a cookie from the bag in his hand.

"You think so?"

"When was the last time anyone said no to her? For anything?" I asked before munching my cookie. It's the salty kind; I don't have that much of a sweet tooth. Ranma became quiet as he thought over the question. I clapped my hands clean before finishing my milk. "Well, you think on that, I'm going to take a nice shower and then go to bed early."

"But it's only seven," he commented.

"I know. And when I'm done with my nice shower, it'll be eight." I responded dryly. "I'll see you tomorrow Ranma." A grin reached my lips. "Don't get assaulted by guys on your way back."

It took him a moment before he realized what I was implying. "HEY!"

"Night Ranma!" I said before entering the bathroom. After what happened during the last trip, he never went near a bathroom I'm close to… well, maybe to keep watch… but I really don't see the point why.

o.o.o.o.o

I thought Ranma would immediately mess with Nabiki and end with the engagement… but it seemed like I worsened it. At this point, I'm not exactly sure why Nabiki isn't backing out yet. Though… the drama with the fan girls might be part of it… Nabiki did seem like the type that would like the spotlight on occasion.

"Poor Katsuya-kun, having to share Ranma with so many girls," the girls cooed.

"Would you mind leaving alone for a moment?" Might as well play along and get a few moments of sweet, sweet silence.

During break Ranma was wisped away by Nabiki, I faintly remember seeing a bento in her hand as they left. Poor Ranma, that's going to be one expensive lunch he's getting and it's not coming out of Nabiki's pocket. Akane of course, didn't seem happy and decided to stalk the two. I sighed glancing at the bentos in my desk. As much as I love to eat, I don't gorge myself… I can probably give it to Ranma later and he'll still eat it, but knowing Nabiki, she'll probably have Ranma running away from a crowd pretty soon.

"Maybe I'll take a little walk," I muttered to myself before picking up the bentos and leaving.

"KATSUYA!" Ah, a familiar voice.

"Bento?" I asked almost cheerily as Ken jumped in front of me. He promptly fell to the ground in disbelief.

"Why are you so weird?!" He said after stand up.

"Why won't you stop using my face? Am I too good looking?" I grinned in response before putting the bento in his hand and continue to walk on. Soon enough he followed.

"It's not poisoned is it?" Ken opened the bento and sniffed suspiciously.

"If I want to poison you, I won't do it so publicly," I commented before plopping down on the grassy ground to enjoy my lunch.

Ken's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Isn't this supposed to be Ranma's lunch?"

"He got kidnapped," I said before popping a piece of octopus into my mouth.

"Kidnapped?" Ken said in bafflement. "Ranma?"

"By Nabiki," I answered.

"Ah, now that's more understandable." Yep, even Ken can see the horror that is Nabiki. Abi oba-chan, you're scary no matter what time period I'm in. "So you're not going to save Ranma?"

"From his fiancée? I would like to keep the mediocre amount of money I have," I said.

"Fiancée? When did that happen?" Ken asked before starting on the lunch. "Oh look, there goes Akane-san." I glanced up. "She doesn't look too happy."

"Hmm… maybe Nabiki went too far." I mumbled before slurping the soba noodles.

"KAAATSUUUUYYAAAAA!!!!!!!" I blinked and glanced around for whoever called my name, I was plowed into a moment later. Nearly knocked whatever I just ate out of my system.

"Oi Katsuya, you know this guy?" Ken asked.

I shook the stars out of my vision before looking down… why now? "Yamamoto-san, must you attack me each time you see me?" I asked dryly… I must be missing Shiyu a lot…

"You haven't stopped by for a chat lately!" Is this man serious? What is he? Five?

"Don't you have a wife for that Yamamoto-san?" I asked as I pried the man off me.

"Oh RIGHT! She asked if you want to come over for dinner in three days!"

"Why three days?" I asked.

"You want to come tonight?" He asked excitedly.

"What? NO! NO!" I flailed my arms.

Yamamoto chuckled. "Just kidding Katsuya!" He pounded my back joyously. "My wife is just planning a huge party dinner for the whole company! Just inviting you along! This time, you better be there and bring a date! You shouldn't be dateless with your looks!"

"Yamamoto-sama…" I glanced behind the man to see a butler.

"Ah right! I have to go! But BE THERE KATSUYA! BRING A DATE!!!!" He bid me farewell before running off with his butler following closely behind.

Once he was gone, I can't help myself but murmured. "Crazy Nerima nut jobs."

Ken chuckled. "Don't forget, you're one too."

I sighed. "Sadly, it is true…" Ranma screamed as he ran pass us. "Oh look, there goes Ranma now."

"I never agreed to anything!" His scream can be heard from a distance.

"Well, I owe you a match don't I?" I said as I finished my lunch.

"Yep," Ken answered and finished his own lunch.

"Let's make this quick, I have classes soon." I grinned.

"I'll wipe that smile from your face one of these days!" He roared before changing and charging at me.

I won as usual, but Ken seems to be getting better as well. While I know my own weaknesses I can exploit it, he's getting better by having more power in his blows. I nearly lost my grip on my fans in a few occasions. I guess he's getting a bit too used to using my body. A grin spread across my face as I realized something.

"Ken can you do me a favor?" I asked almost sweetly.

He stepped back in horror. "What's with that look on your face Katsuya? Don't tell me…" his face pale before he thrust out a finger at me. "Don't tell me you became homo!"

I smacked him over the head with my fan. "No stupid! I need a date for the stupid dinner and I don't want to bother with actually dating. You know how crazy these Furinkan girls are. And if I don't go with one, Yamamoto is probably going to hound me the whole night! Can you just pretend to be a girl for that night? Pretty please! Oh master of copycat! Come on!"

"No," he crossed his arms.

"There's free food," I sang.

"I can't just transform into anyone. Who do you want to me transform into?" he asked. "Ranma?" he joked and turned into Ranko.

"Oh hell no, anyone is fine as long as they have no connections to Ranma."

"But that's pretty much everyone!" he protested. "You already said you don't want to Furinkan girls after your ass, and if I went as one of them, people would see and it'll come back and bite your ass."

"That would be a problem…" I crossed my arms irritably. "Man, I really don't want Yamamoto on my ass during that whole dinner party. I've already pushed off a few already, if I push more off he'll probably get pissed… and kidnap me the next time instead of just inviting… you people are so troublesome." Too bad Shiyu isn't around, or I'll ask her to come with me… even if she looked about thirteen or so, we can just say she's a late bloomer or something.

"Too bad you don't have a sister or something or you can get her to pretend to be your girlfriend." He said.

I laughed. "Yeah sure like that would…" I trailed off before a grin crossed my lips.

"What's running through your psychotic weird little mind now?" Ken asked.

"Come to my place in two days, I should have it ready by then."

"Have what ready?" he asked in puzzlement.

"My date," I grinned. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

o.o.o.o.o

As school ended Akane stormed home almost immediately with a foul mood. I hung back a bit longer to give the drama club a little visit. Since I have no girl clothes and it's a bit risky to go out shopping in my girl form with my guy clothes. One, people would most likely think of something indecent, I've been here long enough that people would recognize my clothes. Also, since I never went out around Nerima in my girl form, it'll be a bit of a problem.

"You want to borrow what?" Takeshi gapped at my request.

I grinned sheepishly. "It's for a friend of mine. I'm having her help me with a little project, but she doesn't own any girl clothes, she's a bit of a tomboy… and you know how embarrassing it is for a guy to just go into a store and buy that stuff for her… She refuses to go into those stores too even if I gave her money… so… please!" I clapped my hands together over my head begging him.

He seems slightly disturbed. "I have no problem lending it to you, but the drama club doesn't have any undergarments. Your friend really doesn't own any of that stuff?"

"She's a major tomboy," I added. I must've forgotten to mention that I burned the ones I came with scared that someone would find it, but now I find it stupid. I could've just hidden it. Akane didn't even dig my drawer that deeply last time.

"And you know her sizes this well?" he continued.

"I asked her mother… she would kill me if I asked her."

"Her mother told you?"

"She's desperate to get her out of the tomboy phase and start dating or something," I shrugged.

"Ah… Well, I can probably make some for her then…"

"Plain is fine, I think it'll be hard enough to get her into those clothes without having those being too… _decorated._" I said.

"Then it won't be too long, come back tomorrow and I'll have everything readied for you."

"Thanks! I owe you!" I said.

"Nah, thank you for helping the drama club! This one is on us." He said.

"Thanks again!" I said before leaving. I was planning to go straight home when I left, but just as I exited Furinkan I found Nabiki waiting for me. "Tendo sempai."

"Why did you tell Ranma I'm using him for money?" she asked almost icily.

"He came to me in a panic last night about the whole situation. Besides Tendo sempai can't possible love an idiotic martial artist like…" I trailed off at the look on her face. "You like him!?" I gapped. "Why him of all people? With your mind and talent you would do so much better with someone else! Ranma is so stupid you'll probably get bored of him once you're sick of his stupidity. And— ah, sorry, I got carried away." I muttered when I saw Nabiki stare at me silently.

"And what makes you think that Shinochi?" she asked.

"Um…" I scratched the back of my head. Why did I say all that stuff really? It wasn't until after the rant I thought back to the fact she was Abi oba-chan… Creepy, Abi oba-chan liking dad. "Well… You're a smart woman, Ranma is really too stupid and a waste of your time. Besides, with his brain, he's not going to make a lot to really support the lifestyle you want… Though, I always thought you were the breadwinner type…" I laughed sheepishly not really sure what to say anymore.

I wasn't sure what to expect next, but a smile definitely wasn't one of them. "Interesting… Very interesting Katsuya, you don't mind me calling you that do you?"

"I guess not?" I said almost in puzzlement.

"I guess I'll return Ranma to Akane when I get home later," I said with amusement before turning to leave. Did I completely miss something?

o.o.o.o.o

I was sleeping quite peacefully when… "KATSUUUUU!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP RANMA!" I cursed loudly before throwing my fan at the direction of his voice before pulling the covers over my head.

"Oh right, forgot, sorry!" He said in a jumble. "Just wanted to say thanks for what you did with Nabiki. I was surprised when she let me off so easily."

"Wait," I sat up groggily. "She told you I said something?" That didn't sound right… even in my half awake mind.

"She said you convinced her about something… Not really sure… but she told me to give you this," he handed me a letter. I felt my heart race, dreading what was in it. "Well, I'll let you sleep! Night!" He said before darting out of the window.  
I sat there glaring at that innocent little paper sitting on my fluffy warm blanket. Yes, I know calling it a fluffy warm blanket is degrading, so what!? I like my fucking fluffy warm blanket so fucking deal with it. Reluctantly, I grabbed the letter and flipped it open, but I didn't dare to read it. From what happened between us after school my mind was screaming. DEAR FUCKING GOD PLEASE DON'T LET IT BE A FUCKING LOVE LETTER! Before finally reading its content.

A grin spread across my face as I let out a relieved bellow of laughter. I'm not going to repeat the whole letter, but I'll give you an abridge version. Thanks for breaking her from the hive mentality of liking Ranma, and if I had interest in her, I can go fuck myself… that's pretty much what the letter implies anyway. Hehe, Abi oba-chan is still scary and awesome at the same time. Hmm… Maybe that's why Ryu-chan is so awesomely apathetic and scary to most strangers… There's no doubt about it. She's definitely Abi oba-chan. At least I don't have to worry about having a scary person like Abi oba-chan after me… Still have to be a bit more careful around her though… But for now… SLEEP!

o.o.o.o.o

The next day, Takeshi had everything ready and in a neat package for me. How considerate! Of course, Ranma got curious and stole the parcel. Oh how I despise him, I had to chase him halfway through the campus and even then, he opened the box. He threw the thing away almost immediately; I barely caught it before the stuff came flying out.

"Now do you know why most people don't just go grabbing people's stuff?" I asked irritably.

"Uh… Katsu? Are you planning to go somewhere… as a girl?"

"No," I grumbled and answered truthfully… sort of… "I'm not going anywhere as a girl." I'm not, but Ken is. "Don't worry about it," I grumbled before shoving the box under my arm, but then I noticed something. "Ranma, are you having trouble sleeping?" I asked noticing the black bags under his eyes.

"Ah, a little… I ran into a Jusenkyo seller yesterday after Happosai knocked me out of the house. He sold me this awesome incense that creates a shadow of myself for practice."

The troublesome shadow incense… oh well, at least it's not that other one Happosai used to create the scary seductress Ranko. "Maybe you shouldn't use that, it doesn't sound very safe…" I added.

"Nah, I'm fine! I'll just take a nap when I get home later." He added.

"If you say so…"

"You worry too much!" He waved it off. I glanced at his shadow warily, but said nothing afterwards.

I later found Ryouga plowing through the doggy door at my window and slightly battered. Is everyone aiming for my apartment or something? I better check if there's a target mark on the other side of that stupid door. "Ranma?" I said dryly from the kitchen counter. He nodded.

"So you know what he's using to get stronger?" Ryouga asked after he dropped his bag at the corner.

I nodded and served him a plate of food; thank god for the job with Yamamoto, I wouldn't be able to feed my guests if I didn't have that job... which makes it even more necessary to get Ken to go as my date… I sighed mentally. "I wouldn't recommend you trying to use it though. There's something strange about it and I don't like it one bit. And since it's from Jusenkyo, it's even more sketchy… you probably shouldn't challenge him until he stops using that… it's bound to have some nasty side affect that he'll try to stop eventually."

Ryouga frowned. "But if he's using underhanded ways to—"

"Don't go after him right now," I repeated. "I just have a very bad feeling about this…"

He stared at me for a moment before finally nodding. "Fine, I won't go after him… until he gets rid of whatever he's using."

I grinned. "Good! By the way Ryouga, you're getting better with talking to girls lately! I bet you didn't even stutter when you were talking with Akane-san before neh?"

A full blush crossed his face as he ducked his head down shyly poking at the food quite dangerously… maybe I should tease him outside of the house, I can see the dish cracking. "I—um—I… ehehe…"

"But you still have to work with that brute strength of yours. You nearly broke my arm the last time we sparred… and you were going easy! What do you think would happen if you tried to hug a normal girl?" I asked before scooping myself a bowl of rice.

"What?"

"You'll crush her! That's what!" I said before conking him over the head with chopsticks, not that he even felt it. "Instead of trying to get stronger, why don't you try controlling that strength instead? So you don't just plow into things like a bull, it's easier to fight Ranma if you had better control."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Don't get offended, but you're what I called pigheaded, no pun intended. When you attack without thinking, sure you can probably take out a whole building, but with Ranma, it's like trying to catch fish with oily hands and in a swamp." He snickered. "Hey, I like my metaphors!"

"Not saying it's bad," he grinned innocently.

"I'll get you for that one Ryouga!" I pointed my chopsticks rudely at him.

"You can try," he drawled in amusement. I stuck my tongue out childishly, but he only laughed.

"Whatever," I waved him off. "Just don't go after Ranma until he stops using that thing.

"Fine, fine, if it matters that much," he said. We went on chatting about what happened during our days. Though, I'm quite sure the world's largest potato is not in Hiroshima.

o.o.o.o.o.o

"Hell, you want me to go as you cross dressing?" Ken asked from his perch.

"You got a problem?" I forced my voice to be deeper since I was actually using my girl form.

He snickered. "And here I thought Ranma was the only one that cross dresses around these parts. You really changed how I think about you Katsuya!" He cracked up laughing.

"Shut up, will you do this or not?" I snapped.

"Fine, fine, but it is a surprise though, who knew you can look so girly with your hair down like that," he snickered again.

"Just shut up and change, I'm going to go change," I grumbled before storming back into the bathroom to change back. This dinner party is a pain in the ass.

Just as I stepped into the bathroom I frown, I felt something. My chi senses has been improving every since that lost trip I had with Ryouga, as long as it's no further than a room away, I can sense it. Ken is obviously in the living/bedroom area, he hasn't move since I went in. There is something close by… probably the window? I quietly snuck over to the small bathroom window and climbed up. I saw a brief shadow before it disappeared.

"Damn perverts," I grumbled before frowning deeply. It felt familiar, so whoever it was, I probably met a few times already. How the hell did they find out where I lived? Nabiki hasn't been selling my personal information like where I lived… or maybe she started… oh man, I really don't need a fan girl horde stalking me home.

"Katsuya! Are you ready yet? You take longer than a girl!"

"Shut up Ken, this stuff is hard to take off!" I snapped back after a quick splash of hot water… but I'm not joking… These freaking dresses are hard to take off, that is why I never liked dressing like a girl even when I was at home. A nice pair of jeans and a loose button up shirt, most likely stolen from my brother's closet, beats a skirt any day.

Even when we left for the party, I still had that nagging feeling of someone following us. Ken of course, is an amazing actor, playing the part of a female quite effectively. Yamamoto left me alone, only glancing back every now and then to make she I hadn't ran off and ditched his party. That man is infuriating. I found myself nearly dousing off if Ken hadn't been there to cure me from the boredom. Old men are horrible people to hang around. The only old people I like hanging around are my grandma and grandpa… mainly because they either make awesome food, or treat me to good food… Ah, this is a dinner party, might as well pig out. Ittakimasu!

When the party was over, Ken and I walked a distance away before he transformed back to himself and we parted ways. As I walked home, I frowned. It was still following me. I stopped and glanced back for a moment. It definitely felt familiar, it can't possibly be Shiyu, since she doesn't have a set chi, each time she appears she has a different chi signature. Should I be daring? Should I ask whoever it is to come out?

Ah, what the heck, you only live once… lets hope it's doesn't become my famous last words. "Come out, I know you're there." I turned sharply.

A rustle of movement signaled the person was running away. Aw man, my stalker is the shy type. Better hunt this bastard down before I find myself kidnapped and bound up somewhere in a few weeks... I really don't want to hunt my stalker down. It sounds like a horror movie… I swear Japanese horror movies are the scariest shit you'll ever see. The American horror movies are a joke compare to them.

"You better hope you're not a weakling when I catch you because I'm going to kick your ass so hard your mother won't recognize you," I muttered under my breath. Of course, if it's someone powerful, I am running out of there. Screw pride, I value my life more.

I winced at the pain in my joints caused by the running, but continued to run anyway. I wish I had my blades with me right now. Hmm… maybe I can… I concentrated for my chi to elevate me slightly. Most of my weight was taken off from my legs, but my feet were still touching the ground. I grinned before darting forward, faster and lighter than I've ever felt, but I better not waste my chi like this. I'll use it if my little stalker gets out of my chi sensing range.

The longer the chase went the more baffled I got. I was going into a familiar neighborhood, more and more the further we went in. It wasn't until it stopped that I slapped a hand over my face. "This can't be happening…" I grumbled before opening the door and inviting myself in. Did you guess where it is? Yep, the Tendo Residence, I really don't want to know who was stalking me, but I don't want to get kidnapped later.

I found Ranma snoozing outside near the koi pond; his shadow was missing from under him. I'm tempted to smack him over the head to wake him up… but knowing he is quite capable in sleep-fu, I'm not going to try. I don't want to get my ass kicked by the sleeping Ranma… Ni-chan is a violent sleeper too when you try to wake him up. I sighed and rubbed the side of my temple to rid the on coming headache.

"Oi, Ranma—" I tried placing a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake, but a hand caught mine and dragged me back. "What the—" I glanced back to see Ranma's shadow. I couldn't stop myself from giving a startled shout, but even then, Ranma didn't wake up. The shadow placed a hand over my mouth before dragging me off. Shit, it's trying to kidnap me. Come on Ranma wake the fuck up!

He was still snoring peacefully not knowing my predicament. I struggled against his shadow's grasp before something clicked in my mind. Energy flares. I closed my eyes before forcing my chi points to flare brightly. Come on Ranma, wake up! Even if he hasn't gotten to the chi blasting training yet, he should still be able to feel chi.

"Katsu!" Ranma's startled voice made me open my eyes. The shadow Ranma grabbed me around the waist before hauling me off onto the roof. It wasn't long before the whole Tendo house was woken up and attempted to free me from Ranma's weird shadow. Shouldn't it be going after Akane or something? Why the hell is it going after me?

Genma and Soun were kicked away by the shadow but he kept a firm hold over my arms. "Damn it! Let go of Katsu!" Ranma shouted and tried to get closer, but the shadow tightly its hold on my arms. I yelped from the pain of the pressure placed on my arms.

"Ow, Ranma, what did I ever do to you!?" I snapped furiously at the pigtail martial artist. "Sometimes I don't even know why I even bother with you!" Both the shadow and Ranma flinched. I blinked and glanced at the two… no way…

"Oh my, you've gotten Katsu-kun mad," Kasumi commented, the shadow froze.

"Katsuya never did like rough people. He must _hate_ you now." Nabiki added. The shadow released my arms and backed away further. Oh my Ra… please don't let this be true. Ranma took the chance and beaten his shadow to nothingness.

"Are you okay Katsu?" Ranma asked after the shadow was gone.

"Yeah… fine…" I glanced at him warily before glancing over to Nabiki; she had an amused grin over her face.

"What were you doing here at this hour anyway?" Akane asked curiously.

"I had a stalker," I responded bluntly.

"My shadow?" Ranma asked in puzzlement. He doesn't seem to get what the shadow was trying to do… so maybe…

"Never mind, you'll just hurt yourself if you think any harder." I sighed.

"Hey!" He shouted in offense.

"Sorry for barging in uninvited," I bowed politely to Kasumi before bidding farewell and going back to the apartment for the night.

But just as I closed the door behind me, I ran to the garbage can in the kitchen to empty out my stomach. It wasn't because the food wasn't agreeing with me, but the fact that Ranma might subconsciously be interested in me that made me sick. He's supposed to be my father in about ten years' time… This is just wrong.

"I disappear for a week and you become this wreck of a mess? Really now, you disappoint me Katsu," that voice! That beautiful voice!

"SHIYU!" I scream almost hysterically before plowing her over with a hug. I'm quite certain she hadn't expected it or else she would've sidestepped and let me plow straight into the wall… It must be Nerima; I think I'm starting to catch the crazy from these people.

"Maybe I shouldn't come back at all the next time I leave," she said dryly before trying to pry me off. "Now what has caused you to breech into insanity?" I couldn't help myself; I told her everything that happened while she was gone. I was going mad without the company of someone I can trust.

"It's sick! I know he doesn't know, but I'm getting sick just thinking about it." I murmured tiredly burying my head under my arms on the table.

"I wouldn't worry your pretty head over it." Shiyu drawled lazily before I glanced up. "He was using a magical item. From what you told me it's the shadow incense, am I correct?" I nodded. "Don't worry Jusenkyo items are cursed to seek out a romance partner for its user and usually search for their exact opposite. You're just unlucky that you happen to be the opposite of his curse. It has nothing to do with what he wants. He's too much of an idiot to know what he wants at this moment. Not even at a subconscious level."

"Are you sure?"

"Your father is an idiot, if you get him drunk and shove one of those willing whore of an excuse of a fiancée into the same room with him, he won't even know how to do it."

I blinked and stared at her with my mouth agape. Did she… just made a pervert crack about my dad? I bit my lower lip before cracking up laughing. "You made a pervy joke!" I hugged my sides laughing. It's not really that funny, but I think I'm a bit messed up every since I appeared here.

"I can see that," she responded with a dull drone. Apparently, she agrees with my mind. "Anyway, I have taken your mirror for repairs. It should be done in about a year… or so he says."

"A YEAR!?" I banged my head against the table. "I'm stuck here for a full year before I get to go home?!"

"It could be longer; he said he never played with this type of item before." She shrugged.

"By the time it's done, I'll probably be twenty! Puberty isn't going to be a valid excuse for any changes on my body!" I snapped.

She knocked the side of my head gently. "Idiot, there are things that would make you young again. Like that age mushroom, you can become five again if you want to, Riolu already have a stash ready for you. While I may be partially immortal, I'm not a complete dunce about age."

"Thank you Shiyu!"

"Hug me again and I'll cut your balls off," she hissed.

"I don't need them," I retorted.

She paused to stare at me for a second before an amused grin crossed her lips and she chuckled. "Of course, of course." She said before getting off the ground. "I will test your progress tomorrow at dawn. I will not tolerate lateness."

"Yes madam!" I gave a mock salute with a silly grin over my face. It's nice to have Shiyu back.

"Oh, before I forget, I gave Riolu your address. If you see any unusual mail, it's for me." She said before leaving.

I blinked… Somehow, I think I got myself a roommate… sort of…

o.o.o.o.o

"Oh?" Shiyu hummed in amusement as we sparred—wait, let me correct myself. As she kicked my ass across the roof. As I've said before, what Shiyu lacks in strength, she makes up for it with speed and momentum. I found myself forcing chi to my back so it would stop me from crashing into the metal fence wall. "I've seen you've figured out how to propel yourself without your actually limbs."

"I'm not making much progress with it though," I grunted when I dropped to the ground heavily. I can only propel myself from only one direction after all.

"You're doing pretty well for someone who just started martial arts for no more than a few months. Most other people take years to learn it, and you got a hint of what they're capable of in the matter of months. Though… I'm not certain if you'll get much stronger even at the speed you're improving. After all, you're already past the prime for learning. Your body is already maturing into an adult. There aren't many changes you can really do to your body now… in short of magical means anyway."

"No thank you, I would like to stay away from magic as much as I can, especially if its Jusenkyo based ones." I said as I got up and brushed off the dust and dirt from my uniform. I'm not even going to both changing since I'll look like a mess regardless. Aw man, those fan girls are going to start up the rumor mill again. I knew there was something nice about Shiyu not being around at first.

"Heh, remind me to introduce you to western magic sometime then, it's not all that bad… even if they're lazy bastards that can do more half the stuff without using magic. Can you believe these people!? It's only half a block away and what do they do? They teleport! Lazy bastards. If they lived during my time, they wouldn't survive a minute without their magic."

"At least they can do it." I tried to placate her anger, but she only turned to kick my ass ever more. At least I found out some new things about Shiyu. She wasn't of a noble or rich family and laziness is not tolerated in any form… and here I thought she was only a strict teacher.

"We'll train more on your new skill later; your classes are starting soon." Just as she said so, the bell to Furinkan rang. She decided it was time I trained somewhere more visible and work on my stealth… I'm questioning what she thinks stealth is. I'm not a freaking defective vampire like her!

"Where are we meeting later?" I asked curiously.

"The candy store." Shiyu's dry and uncaring voice did not cease the confusion quickly spreading across my face.

"May I ask why the candy store?" I carefully asked. I swear; I saw a slight pink flush in her pale complexion. "Shiyu," a grin touched my lips. "You like candy don't you?" She didn't say anything. "I thought you can't eat or drink anything but blood."

"Doesn't mean I can't taste it from the people who ate it," she muttered.

I blinked. "Vampires can actually taste?"

"No, just me." She said.

"I knew you are defective." I nodded to myself in accomplishment, though to what, I'm not really sure.

She cuffed my head gently. "Go to class idiot." With that she left, leaving a slight upset of dust in her place.

"Good old Shiyu," I said brightly to myself as I went to pick up my bag. It doesn't seem so bad with her back. Maybe my luck is changing?

"You seem happy today Katsuya-kun," Akane commented when I strolled in humming. "Something good happen?"

"Nothing, just a nice day, that's all." I chirped as I sat down. I glanced around. "Where's Ranma?"

"Someone called me?" Ranma said as he jumped into the classroom from the window.

"Is there a reason why you came in through the window instead of the door?" I asked curiously.

"N-nothing at all, haha," he's a horrible liar, but I'm not going to pry. It's going to explode in his face sooner or later. I shrugged and readied the materials for the first class.

"Class, today we're going to have a new addition to our class. Please give a warm welcome to Hikaru Gosunkugi." Sensei said as he wrote the sickly boy's name down. There was no clapping, but there was a slight whine about having only boy students joining and no girls… that thought is a bit too funny, I can't help but grin slightly. "You can sit next to Katsuya-kun."

o.o.o.o.o

"T-that's okay Akane! Katsu made me lunch!" He said before latching onto my shoulders. "Right Katsu?"

"Actually… I forgot to make lunch today," I laughed nervously.

"WHAT!?" Ranma shouted in disbelief and horror.

"Sorry," I mouthed, fleeing before the fan girls got me. I was running off towards the cafeteria to grab something when I ran into Gosunkugi in the hallway. "Ah, Gosunkugi-san, nice to meet you, sorry that I didn't get a chance to greet you in the classroom," I greeted him, but blinked in confusion at the glare he was giving me. What did I ever do to him? "Did I do something to offend you?"

"Katsuya-kun!" I glanced back to see Akane running up to me. "You said you didn't have lunch earlier right? Here!" She shoved the box in front of my face.

"Um… er…" I stammered, staring at my death sentence. "It's okay Akane-san, I'm not—" her glare made me gulp. "T-thank you," I said and reluctantly took it.

She grinned. "Why don't you eat it now?"

"Erm… HEY! Look! It's Ranma!" I pointed behind her before turning to run, but seeing Gosukugi has that crush on Akane, I better not leave him around so she can interrogate him. "Come on!" I hissed before latching onto his arm and dragging him off with me.

Once I was certain that she was no where in sight I found the closest trash can before dumping out the food and lighting a match after it… Yes, I carry matches, I'm a pyromaniac, got a problem!? The thing promptly exploded in a burst of fire… They did not exaggerate her cooking skills. It's really that bad.

"Why did you do that for!? Akane-san probably put a lot of hard work into that!" Gosunkugi snapped at me. I refuse to call him Hikaru… because I have about two other characters I like with that name and I don't really like him that much.

"Gosunkugi-kun, Akane-san is a nice girl and all, but not to insult her, her cooking can kill people. Did you see how that thing just exploded!? She probably put kerosene in there." I hissed out, not wanting Akane to accidentally hear it. Since Nerima law seem to love having eavesdroppers listen in and kick the other person in the crotch into LEO. Seeing I'm a guy at the moment, I would very much not want to feel that experience.

"Foul apprentice sorcerer, how dare you speak poorly of sweet Akane's loving culinary!" Well… At least it's not Akane that heard it.

"Kuno sempai," I sighed irritably and pinched the bridge of my nose. Maybe I should start taking aspirins; these people are going to give me migraines that rival the fan girls.

"Sorcerer?" Gosunkugi stared at me.

"I wish," I muttered. "At least then I can abracadabra him to somewhere else."

"Prepare yourself!" Kuno roared before charging at me with his bokken.

I pulled out my fan and held it against me arm before blocking. Sure, the shockwave would hurt my arm slightly, but at least I won't get overpowered. Learned this trick from Shiyu when she was teaching me how to defend against stronger opponents… Not recommended to use against people like Ryouga though, unless you're about the same strength as him.

Block, side-step, dodge, back step, chi powered jump, step on Kuno's head, jump off and roundhouse kick. "I FIGHT ON!" Skip backwards, snap fans open, catch blade, snap close twist, pull, catches the bokken and swing!

"Home run!" I shouted as I swung it over Kuno's head. Surprisingly he ducked before catching my wrist. Can you guess what's running through my head at the moment? You got it, fuck indeed.

"You think such foul trickery can get me?" He snarled.

I struggled against his grip for a short while before I dropped his bokken and my fans to grip tightly onto his wrists before kicking off the ground. However, before I could finish my move, he swung his weight before letting go of my wrists. It turns out Kuno's not that stupid compared to his delusions. My grip weren't strong to begin with, so I ended up flying quite a distance away. Ah fuck, the wall is coming up and my chi reserves are nearly out; I guess it's time at the medics once again for me.

Oddly, I didn't crash, I cracked an eye open to find myself floating, but this time I'm certain I didn't do it. There was an odd color covering me. "I knew it! You're practicing foul sorcery!" Kuno picked up his bokken and charged at me once again, the strange coloring disappeared and dropped me to my feet.

"This really isn't my day," I sighed dejectedly and ducked under Kuno's attack in an attempt to rush past him to grab my weapon, but he swung his leg and caught me at the stomach.

The air was knocked out of me as I was sent flying again. Something didn't feel right. Wasn't Kuno's attacks strictly kendo based? He slipped in some other moves in there that's not normally his style. I stretched out my hands to the ground in an attempt to try to change my momentum by shoving off from there. Wrong choice even if an interesting idea, the concrete torn my skin when I got close enough and the push wasn't enough for me to even do a somersault. I landed flat on my back with my vision wiping out for a moment. Definitely a bad move on my part… I should really get around to getting myself some protection for my head. These concussions are getting worst each time.

I hissed out in pain when my vision came back and I struggled to my feet. I can't wait to get home and away from this crazy mess. I blinked a few times to get rid of the double vision. I wonder why Kuno wasn't moving. When my vision was complete again, I noticed a dark glow enveloping Kuno like it did to me earlier. It wasn't only on his person; I followed that trail of glowing darkness to fine Gosunkugi holding a doll in his hand.

"What the hell?" Can you blame me for not being able to think of anything else?

What would you say if you found out Gosunkugi is actually good at something? But now the real question is; what did I do to piss him off and get him trailing my ass trying to kill me? Well… maybe not kill me since he did stop me from crashing into the wall, but he's still attacking, so I have no fucking clue! But before I tried anything else, I stuck my fingers in my mouth trying to alleviate the pain from scraping it against the ground.

"You're pretty good," he commented… I think he was trying to sound cool, but I'm not sure. Man, does this mean I can't rely completely on whatever info I remember from the series? "Originally, I came here somewhat curious about this strange rumor about a boy that turns into a girl with the touch of water, but the story about a vampire taking a human apprentice without turning him was far more interesting."

"What are you talking about?" How did he find out about Shiyu? She's not that sloppy of an eater is she?

"Oh, no need to hide it. You have the aura of death clinging onto you."

"Aura of what?" I said with the fingers in my mouth.

"It only appears on people who spend a lot of time around the dead, it fades away with time if given the chance to. With the dull aura on you, I'm guessing she was away for quite sometime. Hmm… but it seems like she returned no?" he smiled, let me tell you. It's quite creepy with his sunken face and all. What he needs is a good sleep and a few hundred servings of American grease.

"Say I believe you and what you say is true, why are you attacking me? I didn't do anything to you. Heck, this is the first time I've ever seen you!"

"Master Riolu was curious about what caught that lady vampire's attention and sent me to investigate for him." Riolu… now why does that sound familiar? "I must say there's really not much to be impressed about even with your passable fighting arts." He tweaked his doll before pocketing it away. Kuno lowered his weapon before walking away with a dazed look on his face.

I couldn't help but let my eyes follow the direction Kuno left in. "What did you do to him?" I don't really care what happens to Kuno, but the power he had was unnerving and possibly dangerous.

"Nothing serious, just a minor manipulation spell. It'll wear off in about ten minutes with him remembering nothing about this. Handy isn't it? Can't have the lady vampire's existence spread after all. Master Riolu is a bit fond of her… in a strange sense."

I raised an eyebrow. "Necrophilia?"

He laughed. "Maybe, you can never tell with crazy old wizards."

"So is this a test attack or are you going to attack me again in the future?" I asked dryly before plopping down on the ground to sit, it was getting a bit tiring to stand.

"Depends, I've been looking for a new puppet to play with." Alarms ran through my head; that is definitely not a good sentence to hear regardless where you're from… too bad I suddenly have the urge to feel lazy and not move.

"This is too troublesome," I sighed and fell backwards to plop down the rest of my body on the ground.

"Giving up so easily? What a disappointment, I was expecting a more unwilling puppet." He sighed. However, before anything else happen a loud high pitch voice screamed.

"Oh my god! The new student is trying to molest Katsuya-kun!"

"What!?" I bit back a laugh as I heard the horde of fan girls stampede pass the area with Gosunkugi running at full speed.

"Damn you Katsuya Shinochi!" I heard Gosunkugi's voice scream at me from a distance.

A grin played over my lips. "Ah, I love my life." I sighed in delight to myself and glanced up the beautiful blue sky. Hmm… nice day for cloud watching.

o.o.o.o.o

Cm Aeris: I had a Shikamaru moment for the last part when I got there.

Mokuba: Not much else to say than FRI!


	11. Chapter 11

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

"Who are you getting presents for?"

"Not you obviously," I responded dryly.

"Why not?" he frowned… it's almost cute… if I didn't want to smack him over the head for it.

**Chapter Eleven: Merry, Okonomiyaki and Old Master**

Block left, block bottom, jump backwards redirect right blow. "Not bad, not bad at all," Shiyu commented as she snapped her wrist and snagged my leg with her whip and yanked with both arms. I forced myself to float higher to prevent myself from running into anything.

This is training with Shiyu five weeks after she came back and guess what!?

"You're letting yourself get thrown too far!" Shiyu shouted at me.

A fan materialized beneath my feet before I landed on it and used it to glide back to where Shiyu was. I finally managed the materialization thing! It took long hours of watching Akane mallet Ranma into LEO before I finally picked up how she did it. Surprisingly, Akane is actually a decent chi user; her only problem is that she could only use it when she's angry. None of the control and discipline Tofu sensei taught me. While I still can't fly yet, angling the fan can be a very effective glider; at least for now anyway. Since I can float up to a pretty good height, I won't have a problem catching a wind draft for the actual gliding part.

Though, as Shiyu said it, I am excelling quite quickly for someone who never had a martial arts lesson until a few months ago. She said my development is starting to slow down. My attacks would never be as strong as Ranma or even Akane, but my speed could still be improved from what she said. In other words, I'm pretty much useless in a fight of power. I'm not tactical enough to be able to out smart my opponents on the spot either. The best I can be is the exit strategy, where I run the hell away! Hmm… Not exactly a bad thing. I don't like fighting if I can avoid it. That time can be spent elsewhere doing something more fun and productive… like teasing a defective vampire that loves food.

"You're eating chocolate!" She snarled viciously. Either her eyes are really good in this darkness or her nose is very good. Since I could pretty much not need my vision to fight, she prefers to train me at night when she's not feeding… Though, I'm curious does she ever sleep since she's not bothered by the sunlight.

"So? It's a good source of energy! I'm not a freaking vampire! My muscles actually get tired!" I retorted before popping another piece of mint chocolate into my mouth.

"You can't afford eating during battle!" She snapped before flicking her whip at me again. I angled the fan to block her attack before sending a burst of chi to send me backwards away from her.

"I don't think even Ranma can beat your speed Shiyu, I think I can afford some," I stuck my tongue out childishly. While I can't move anywhere near any of these martial arts fanatic speeds, I can at least keep an eye on them and dodge at the right moment. By the way, this training made Tetris way too easy to play now… I feel sad now… That's the only game I don't mind losing in… I think I broke it…

Training was supposed to continue for another hour but… "HOTCHA! WHAT A HAUL! WHAT A HAUL!"

Shiyu froze and turned sharply at the voice. "That damnable voice," she hissed. I flinched at my fan when her eyes flickered red.

"S-Shiyu?" I hesitantly called out to her.

A cruel smirk crossed her face as her fangs came out quite noticeably. "I'm going to have a little fun Katsuya."

"Shiyu wait!" I called out to her again before trying to steer my fan the other direction. Shiyu is not a fighter, no matter how good she's at kicking my ass and I don't want to see what Happosai might do to my undead friend… Friend? Haha, I got a friend.

"HAPPOSAI! DIE!" I winced at the harshness in Shiyu's usually calm commanding voice as I closed the fan and landed on a nearby roof. She somehow managed to snag Happosai and wrapped the whip around the little demon.

"Wooh feisty! Hmm… Have I stolen a panty from you before? You look familiar. Nah, can't be, I don't steal little girl panties."

"JUST DIE!" Shiyu said as she slammed the bundle named Happosai to the ground. The lack of cracks just showed how weak she really was… but then again, he just bounced off the ground like a rubber ball.

"Very cute!" Happosai chuckled as he broke out of the whip prison and lacked onto Shiyu's chest. She's not exactly huge, given she looked about 13-14, but she still has some. I flinched when I heard the sound of an unsheathing blade. "Woah! Careful with that!" Happosai caught the blade with merely two fingers. "If I moved, you would've stabbed yourself…" He paused and squinted at Shiyu's face. "You wouldn't happen to have any relatives that lived in China at one point did you?"

Man, Shiyu is really getting pissed now; I hauled up my materialized fan and lugged it at Happosai's head. He raised his pipe to block it, but I manipulated the fan to disappear and reemerge when it was only an inch from his face. It hit dead on, but his head barely moved from the hit. I found myself slammed against the wall a moment later.

"Oh ho, it's Ranma's little boy toy. So you know this little vixen that's trying to maim me in the most wondrous ways?" he chuckled.

"Happosai-san," I grunted and pulled the cretin that was sitting on my chest. At least he's just sitting. "SHIT SHIYU!" I shouted before jumping aside with Happosai still grasped in my hand.

"Shiyu? What a beautiful name! Hmm… but very familiar. I wonder why?" He pondered.

"Oh please calm down already Shiyu! He doesn't even remember!" I begged. I really wish I can just toss the old geezer away, but he somehow latched his legs to my arm and won't let go.

"Oh I remember now! You're that cute vixen back at China a century back! You haven't aged at all, cute! But you still look a bit too young." What do you know; Happosai isn't a complete pedophile… though at his age, anyone would be considered pedophilia for him.

"DIE!" Shiyu roared again, but stopped in mid-attack with her eyes widened.

I felt Happosai's leg grip on my arm disappeared and the cretin was silent. Craning my neck back a little I found a beautiful man standing behind me with the cretin unconscious in his hand. "Playing with your food again? And with such unsightly mannerisms, I taught you better than that." The man's voice was very hypnotic to listen to… Wait, he said he taught Shiyu… Oh shit, he's a vampire. His hand glowed over Happosai's head before he tossed the cretin away. When I say toss, I meant shooting away like a bullet. "I thought you prefer the blood of intellects, but I see you're into the blood of young men now?" I barely caught him move before he caught my chin evaluating me.

"Master Timmy!" Shiyu shouted in delight and bounded over to us. Timmy? How degrading can you get?

"That's Master Timothy to you," he corrected her without losing composure; I must applaud him when I get my senses back. He's very, very pretty. "Hmm? If I recall correctly, this little mortal called out your name just earlier. Are you consorting with him?"

When he released my chin, I regain all my senses and stepped back in a hurry to get away from him. Shiyu hurried and put herself between me and her master. "He's my new charge."

"Your family line hasn't died out yet? I thought most of them died in the last attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki." I blinked… isn't that where those two bombs landed? "Never mind that, I came to remind you of the reunion in five years be certain you are not late this time. Her majesty did not like it when you barged in the way you did."

Her face scrunched up. "Hey, it's not my fault that the reunion is a bore! Besides, she likes me anyway!" she responded cheerily… man, her mood swings are worst than mines. From murderous to chirpy… though this is the first time I've seen her even on the line of being chirpy.

"You boy, what is your name?" He glanced over to me before I felt my face flushing and my head going lightheaded.

"Katsuki Shinochi," I responded almost dreamily.

He raised a brow. "A female name?"

"Katsuya is cursed," Shiyu responded with a shrug as if it was a normal occurrence.

"I see," he kept his eyes on me. "Be glad you are Shiyu's charge or else you would have lost your memory of this incident just as that cretin I discarded earlier." He broke eye contact with me once again for me to regain my senses before talking to Shiyu. "I trust you will not make a repeat of this incident? There is a reason I ended your training, is there a reason for me to resume it?"

"No sir!" the cheery personality left her as she became serious once again.

"Good, I shall see you in five years' time," he said crisply. "You child, have better not cause any trouble for Shiyu." He disappeared seconds later. I found myself unable to hold up my own weight and collapsed to the ground.

"Ah, I almost forgot about the side effects of the sex beam. Don't worry; it'll wear off in about an hour." She sounded very giddy, not the normally drawling drone I'm so used to hearing.

Wait! "Sex beam?" I gapped at her.

"Well, it's actually called the allure, but since it usually makes you high over heels for the user, it seems like a sex beam." I got quiet… not something I wanted to hear.

"So that was the guy that turned you?" I asked, changing the question, might as well use this time of immobility to ask her questions since I won't be able to move for quite sometime.

"Not on purpose," she said as she plopped down on the ground next to me.

"Not on purpose?" I stared at her with confusion over my face.

"I found him injured during one of my hunting trips. He was dying when he fed on me, didn't tell me the full story about it though." She rested her fist under her chin. "It was an accident that I was turned, from what I've seen, he didn't seem like he ever wanted to turn anyone. I'm suspecting there was a hint of alluring in the part of where my curiosity got the better of me and he fed on me. It was for months before he was finally better, though I am curious to what injured him that greatly, even a bullet wound can be healed in a day's time to a proper dosage of blood."

"So how exactly did you get turned?" I asked.

"In the proper ritual, the turner must drain the other's blood until they're empty before feeding the blood back to the said target… I was never drained to that extent, but I was showing signs of a half-turned vampire after a while. My senses were enhanced, seeing better at night, smelling scents stronger than usual… Then the food started tasting like sand… I was starving to near death before Master Timmy noticed that he somehow turned me."

"How exactly did he find out?" I was always a sucker for a good vampire story.

"A mental link, it formed when he accidentally sired me… though I don't think I became a full vampire until he fed me blood."

"Maybe that's why you're defective," I commented with a grin. She knocked me over the head gently. "But this doesn't make sense, why are you a guardian? You're a vampire aren't you?"

She snorted. "Turning into a vampire doesn't mean you automatically cut ties to your family idiot… but I did get disowned when they found out anyway." She shrugged. "But my older brother and sister didn't seem to want to even when they found out. So what happened was I just decided to watch over their descendents when I was finally able to wander around freely without Master Timmy's supervision… since I can't have any kids of my own."

I blinked; she feels that connected to her family? How strange… definitely a defective vampire. Since most vampires become detached after turning… I think… I don't want to ask, she might actually get angry. "So how long were you training under him?"

"About six decades, give or take a few years." She drawled with a grin.

I gapped. "Sixty years?!"

She grinned with more amusement in her eyes. "Yeah, I was a very troublesome fledgling. Master Timmy used to call me barbaric even. He had to teach me manners and proper dictation and language for about a decade before I even bothered to use it."

Language? Oh man, she didn't used to speak like this? Interesting…

"I was not the epitome of lady when he had to take me to the vampire reunions…" A frown marred her face before a vicious grin spread across it. "Katsuya, do you by any chance know where I can get some incendiary devices and ultra flammable fluids?" She asked almost innocently.

I blinked at the question. Do I really want to know why she's asking me this? "There should be some in the hardware stores in the camping section… or barbeque section."

"Ah, good, good…" She continued to grin happily. Well, whoever she's planning to kill, sucks to be you man… For some reason, I had an odd feeling that some had just sneezed on the other side of the planet.

o.o.o.o.o

"You want me to what?" I gapped at Ranma when I found myself being dragged away after school one day.

"Come on, you can do it!" he argued… well more like bluntly denying any other explanation or protest.

"But why me?" I protested before he pulled the door open and shoved me in.

"You know I don't know how to do it! Just do it!" He said before Akane shoved an apron and a bandanna into my arms.

And that's how I found myself saying. "Welcome to Ucc-chan's, what would you like?" until Ukyo came back from her training to fight against the Crepe King that moved in a few days earlier. With Ranma and Akane as waitresses to serve the guests.

Apparently, the one time I made okonomiyaki for Ranma made him think I'm worthy enough to cook at Ucc-chan's. I guess it is pretty close. After all Aunty Kyo is probably Ukyo and since she taught me, the non-offensive aspect of the style, I guess it's suitable for it. Though… I might boastfully say that I might've quadrupled her income of money by fan girls alone. Nabiki is really an amazing person for advertisement. And since my cooking tends to turn out sweet, it kind of became more popular with the girl crowd…

I'm guessing that was probably what drew the crowd to the Crepe King in the first place. Interestingly enough, after the first few days with the crazy fan girl horde, the guys slowly trickled in. Not because they like my cooking, but to meet girls. Strange how life is, isn't it? Oh yeah, Nabiki suggested we put a no fighting sign outside of Ucc-chan, so if Kuno or whoever decides to come in to cause a ruckus could be kicked out and dealt with properly outside. No need to damage Ukyo's restaurant while trying to protect it… I think we might've sent Kuno into the Crepe King's vehicle a few times… not purposely… You can't prove anything! I didn't tell Ranma to aim that direction! I'm innocent! INNOCENT! I didn't fan up a gust of wind on my way home to dirty his food!

What's more interesting is when Nabiki informed me that the Crepe King, while still quite popular with the general crowd, is losing profit when it comes to the Furinkan crowd. Excuse me for a moment as I cackle in triumph. MWUAHAHAHA! Okay, now where was I? Right, but there was a downside to be able to best the Crepe King, it means that I got challenged in a battle of the crepes… I could have declined it… but Ranma hastily accepted it for me… Aw man… I'm going to be a dead man when Ukyo comes back.

"Give it to him Katsu!" Ranma cheered loudly on the side lines.

I stood on the arena staring at the battle spatula in my hand… I'm really fucked this time. AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT RANMA SAOTOME! "Is it too late to back out without repercussions?" I asked meekly.

"Quit being a coward Katsu!" Ranma roared. I sighed, I guess not.

"Hmph, regretting that you accepted the challenge from moi?" he mocked.

I sighed again. "I don't even want to be in this fight," I muttered to myself before testing the weight of the battle spatula, I would much prefer my lighter fans, this thing is awkward for me to use. I really don't want to show any of my skills until I can perfect it as best as I can.

"En garde!" he shouted before starting his crepe attacks.

I sighed before pulling the bandanna down from my head to cover my face. Remembering his smoke bomb attack, I don't think I want to go into an attack and just lose because of that. Let's see, weird lizards, I can just swat that. Smoke bombs, I have my bandanna or I can swat it and watch it explode on contact. Flame thrower, going to have to dodge that. Tear gas… now what to do with tear gas? Pulling out a mini-spatula as a disguise before materializing a fan in my hand to fan the gas back at him. I tossed the spatula at him to hide the little cheating I did. This is supposed to be the battle of chefs… in a very sick sense. I much prefer the Iron Chef way better… but too bad, this is Nerima.

But soon I ran out of spatulas to disguise my fan attacks. Sure, he's crying from the onion tear gas, but it's not really hindering his attacking ability. I'm really not looking forward to that crepe cloak bomb… Well… I still have this big spatula… He was taunting me throughout the battle, but I wasn't really listening. Too busy trying to find a way to get out without getting hurt.

"Out of ideas?" he cackled.

"Hmm? You said something?" I came out of my thoughts at his last comment.

He frowned. "You'll regret that cheek against me." He jumped back and crossed his arms. Here we go, the… "Batter Dragon attack!" Talk about lame names. These people need a better script writer.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath before using a blast of chi to jump higher than usual in an attempt to dodge the thing, but I wasn't getting high enough. I ended up following my self-preservation instincts and materialized the fan under my feet to block the batter attack. The batter enveloped the fan before I jumped off and watch it explode.

A whistle went off. "Katsuya Shinochi disqualified for using a non-cooking utensil," the judge declared.

"WHAT!?" The audience shouted in disbelief… probably wanting the battle to continue.

I laughed sheepishly before scratching the back of my head. "I guess I'm not much of a chef," I glanced over to Ranma apologetically before walking over to the edge of the arena to jump off.

"Not yet," I paused and glanced back. "I want to continue the battle." Why the fuck does he want to continue the battle!? I was about to snap irritably at him, until a felt a familiar chi racing towards my direction.

"No," I responded.

"What!? WHY!? KATSU YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE UCC-CHAN'S RESTAURANT!" Ranma argued.

"Ukyo-san can fight for herself! It's not my place to defend what's hers," I retorted before I felt her land behind me in the middle of the ring.

"Thank you sugar… but I will have a talk with you later," she responded icily.

"Hai, hai," I said with a smile before jumping off the arena. I dropped off the equipment on Ranma before I sat back to enjoy Ukyo's fight. It's a very interesting and enjoyable fight… but I can't say the same after the battle.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" I shouted frantically trying to dodge Ukyo's barrage of spatula attacks before hiding behind Ranma. My version of the Saotome ultimate attack.

"You mutilated my okonomiyaki! How could you put sugar in it!? How _**DARE**_ you put sugar in it!" she roared in fury.

"I didn't! I swear I didn't!" I whimpered. After the battle we went back to Ucc-chan to give her a run down of what happened while she was gone and what we did to keep her business afloat. Then she asked me to make an okonomiyaki for her. As you all know, I have a sweet touch to food that I couldn't get out of my cooking.

"Ucc-chan! Katsu really didn't! He just used whatever you had in your shop! His cooking always turns out sweet!" Ranma tried to placate the furious girl.

"He made it sweet! Sweet like that Crepe Bastard's food." She snarled.

I whimpered again and shrunk behind Ranma fearfully. I miss Aunty Kyo, Ukyo is just too scary! Eventually, she placated after she saw the amount of money that we raked in for her, but even then she was still reluctant to let me off the hook completely… she can't seem to be able to accept the sweet touch that defiles her sacred food… so I ended up having to take cooking lessons from her again the second time for about a week.

Though… I half suspected she was just using me for free publicity for that week to get the customers back to try her okonomiyaki and forget mine… I'm not exactly offended… but I do feel a bit used. What is it with Nerimians that makes me feel so used? Oh well, at least things weren't too out of hand in school… I wish.

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsuya Shinochi!" I raised a fan to block whatever strange gadget Gosunkugi decided to use on me today.

After that initial meeting, I found out Gosunkugi is a third rate magic user. Nowhere near the threat that I originally thought. After consulting with Shiyu, it turned out Gosunkugi was a reject and failure of a student to Riolu and the jab about Shiyu is more of information he snuck out of Riolu's diary… I'm quite certain the man referred to it as a journal, but with Shiyu, you can see she likes to degrade people out of habit than actual venom.

"Gosunkugi-san, why must you attack me nearly every day? I know you're not very good with magic," I commented dully as he tried to get his little item to work, but it ended up fizzing and burning out.

"Nooooooo!" he wailed in defeat as I walked away with a sigh.

On these days I wish I was attacked by Ken instead. At least he's a challenge and a good sparring partner. I shuddered at the cold as I glanced up to the dark sky. It looked like it was going to snow soon. I shrugged and trekked my way towards the business district to pick up another movie script from Yamamoto to translate. I could use some spending money before Christmas kicks in at full blast.

Oh, I'm not planning to buy anyone presents… well maybe something for Kasumi, Nabiki and Ryouga… but that's pretty much it. Kasumi because she's my future mom and she deserves a present. Nabiki… because I'm scared shitless of her and want her to not try anything against me. And Ryouga… hmm… not really sure why I'm getting him a present. Oh well, I'll probably remember why later.

"Katsuya-kun! Here to pick up another script again?" Midorita asked merrily as I rolled up to the security booth.

"Yeah, I need some spending money," I answered sheepishly.

"Ah, an expensive gift for your girlfriend?" he wiggled his eyebrow.

I laughed. "I don't have one Midori ji-san. I only brought a friend to keep Yamamoto-san from trying to hook me up with one last time."

"Well, you should go get one anyway! You're young and hip! You should broaden your horizons." I seriously don't know anyone that talks like Midorita here, he's really something.

"I don't think I want to get into one yet, maybe later," I grinned in response.

"Well, are you celebrating with your family for this holiday at least?" he asked brightly.

I nearly dropped my smile at that question. "My family isn't here," I responded but smiled brightly afterwards anyway. "It'll be my first Christmas away from home."

His smile dropped to a worried frown. "Well, you can at least call right?" he asked again.

"I'm not sure I'll catch them, since they work at odd hours." I lied.

"Well, you can come over to my place for Christmas dinner then! You can visit my Elli-chan!" he chirped happily and pounded my back enthusiastically.

I chuckled again. "I'll think about it Midori ji-san. How is Elli-chan?"

Elli-chan is Midorita's newborn daughter… I wouldn't exactly call her cute, since she still looks somewhat like a prune… but she probably filled out by now and look a lot cuter… hey you can't blame me. All babies are ugly when they're first born, you can't argue with me. They're prunes with a suit of skin they haven't grown into yet, I don't care if you say your baby is the cutest ever or some relative of yours is cute. ALL BABIES ARE BORN UGLY! They're only cute after a month; when they start growing into their shell of a body.

"… and she's gurgling and reaching out for me when I leave for work! She's just an absolute angel! She knows when he daddy is leaving and wants to say good bye!" he gushed. This guy has a father complex.

"Maybe I'll stop by to give Elli-chan her present," I said brightly.

"Really!? You'll get my Elli-chan a present?" he gushed again before dragging me into a hug and swinging me around like a madman. Sometimes I wonder if this man is the incarnation of what Arakawa sensei based Hughes on.

"M-Midori ji-san, I need to go!" I shouted before he stopped the dizzying spin he dragged me into.

"Dinner will be ready at six so don't be late!" He pushed me along enthusiastically.

I couldn't help but keep the smile on my face as I rode the elevator up to Yamamoto's office it's always nice to know odd yet sincere people like Midorita. Though… "KATSUYA!!!!!" I found myself plowed over in an enthusiastic handshake and a one arm hug from the man… I wonder if it's this company that's the cause of these happy people.

"I'm here to pick up some more scripts," I said evenly as I watched him dance around the room like Christmas came early.

"Wonderful absolutely wonderful, such dedicated workers I have!" he bawled like a baby before stacking my arms up with movie scripts. "Any good events planned for the holidays?" he chirped merrily.

I smiled wryly; it really must be this place. I had an almost similar conversation with Midorita just minutes earlier. "I don't believe I have, but something might come up." I don't want him to drag me off on some strange outing with him.

"What?! No date with that cute girl you came with last time? She's not extraordinary appealing, but she's cute in a modest sense." He reasoned.

"Suki is spending it with her family. I don't know them that well so it's a bit uncomfortable for both of us," another lie, but this one gave me a nice image of myself goofing around with ni-chan on Christmas eve playing games till morning and then getting scolded by mom and dad when neither of us woke up until four in the afternoon. "I am going to Midorita-san's family for Christmas dinner though. He was just so insistent I just couldn't say no," I grinned as I leafed through the scripts. It shouldn't be too hard. I'll be done in about two to three weeks.

"Midorita… is that the security that accosted you the first day you came?" he pondered. I must say he has very good memory.

"He's not bad, just… eccentric." I attempted to word myself carefully not to get Midorita in trouble.

Yamamoto shrugged. "There's going to be a Christmas party in a week, will you come?"

Another party? How does this man get any work done? The dubbing film industry doesn't get paid THAT much do they? Ah never mind that. "Not sure yet, Suki might have something planned." This lying thing is started to get easier over time.

"Ah, a date with the little lady. Well, don't let me keep you go on!" he shooed me out of the office.

o.o.o.o.o

I found myself bundled up sitting at my coffee table writing up the translation when something crashed into the reinforced steel door I installed on my window for the winter. When I moved to open it, I found Ranma falling through with a bag of gifts in his arms. I raised an eyebrow at him as he dumped it on my table. These are the ugliest gifts I've ever seen… but I guess it's the thought that counts… He's probably color blind to think a girl would like this.

"Thank you, but no thank you. I'm not interested." I found these dry words left my mouth before I could think of anything else to say.

"It's not for you it's for Akane," he pouted.

I raised an eyebrow before picking up the puke colored teddy bear with mild interest. "It's perfect," I said with a small hint of sarcasm in my voice… but I don't think he picked it up.

"You think so? Would Akane like it?" he asked anxiously. I stared at him for a moment before feeling a bit guilty. I don't need him getting all lovey dovey on Akane, anything that'll piss her off would move one step closer to them breaking up and Ranma getting closer to Kasumi. "But don't you think it's a bit unfair that you're only buying presents for Akane-san? Shouldn't you buy something for Kasumi-san? After all she does so much around the house."

Ranma pauses for a moment. "Hmm… you're right… But what should I get Kasumi? These are the things Akane just listed out she wanted."

I sighed as I pulled off my reading glasses and set it down next to my paperwork. "I'll go with you then. Doesn't seem like you'll leave me alone until you find out what you want to buy Kasumi-san… I need to do some last minute shopping anyway…"

Ranma perked up. "Who are you getting presents for?"

"Not you obviously," I responded dryly.

"Why not?" he frowned… it's almost cute… if I didn't want to smack him over the head for it. And here I thought I was the spoiled brat.

"What can you possibly want other than food and a new technique?" he paused to think. "I give you food almost daily, it's not really a gift in that sense and I have nothing to teach you."

"I guess you're right…" He said thoughtfully.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll get you a parfait later."

"YES!" He punched upwards in delight… I wonder does he ever grow up… Maybe not, dad still enjoys ice cream every now and then.

We ended up getting a nice knife set for Kasumi; I chipped in to help Ranma pay for it since he was short on money after buying gifts for Akane. I got Nabiki a gift basket of food and bathing items, pricey. I wasn't really sure what to get Ryouga, so I got him a poncho with a hood. So unless he splashed in the face or falls into a puddle, he won't change that often… though with his luck you never know… it's the thought that counts!

As I expected, Akane didn't like her gifts and mallet Ranma to the ground a good few times. My only defense was Akane is hard to please when he turn his attention to me. Kasumi accepted her gift in surprise, but smiled gratefully. I allowed them to have their own moment and I went over to drop off my gift to Nabiki, making she to have her read the note first before I moved on to give Ryouga his gift. Both were surprised that I gave gifts and both smiled for different reasons. Nabiki, to sum it up I said thank you for not black mailing me and I wouldn't dream of fucking her or myself, worded more elegantly and to her standard of conversational intelligence. I personally like to speak layman's term to my peasant little self. Ryouga was just surprised that he got a gift I guess… not really sure.

It's kind of nice though. Everyone in my family is here… save for my cousins, at least I'm not spending Christmas eve away from family. "What are you smiling about boy?" Happosai asked as he sat down next to me. He really didn't remember anything about Shiyu. Her Master Timmy must be very powerful.

"Nothing," I smiled again. "It's just nice to be around family settings."

"At twelve we're going to turn off the lights and give a kiss to the nearest person for your wish to come true!" I wasn't sure who said it, but my eyes was widening at the look Kodachi was giving me. The countdown was unexpected, but I managed to dart away the last second to use my chi senses to maneuver around the frantic hurry of the fiancées to give Ranma the kiss. I managed to grab Kasumi and shoved her onto Ranma, so when the lights went on.

"Oh my," she and Ranma blushed when they parted from their kiss, but everyone glanced over to look at me who was still stuck in my pushing pose.

"Whoops!" I grinned nervously. "I got lost trying to get to the bathroom." I earn a hefty face fault and collapse to the ground at my blatant lie. I felt a strange flicker of energy and glanced outside, Shiyu rolled her eyes before disappearing in the start of the snow.

Heh, well… I guess it's going to be a Merry White Christmas after all!

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: I actually planned for this thing to finish around Christmas time, but the block didn't seem to be there for once. SO! This is my early Christmas present to everyone! Happy holidays!


	12. Chapter 12

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

Who would've thought, "…Nice to meet you, my name is Katsuki Shinochi." I would ever get a chance to introduce myself with my real name.

"Nice to meet you too Katsuki-chan!" She smiled brightly.

**Chapter Twelve: Princes and Demon**

It's been two months since anything interesting happened… at least for me anyway. Since that freaky snowstorm, I was pretty much locked in doing translations. From the looks of Ranma and the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew (NWC), it seemed like they have a pretty eventful winter. Ryouga met a Yuki onna, Akane broke her leg, and Ranma got tons of challenges and various festivals… Happosai attaching himself to Ranma almost permanently… Whatever happened to get rid of that cretin before my time, I so wish I would be there to watch before I go home.

At the moment however… "ACHOO!" I sneezed and coughed before slumping over my desk holding my head.

"Oi Katsu, you don't look too good." Ranma commented.

"Hn…." I managed out.

"Maybe you should go home for the day, you look like you're going to pass out any minute sugar." Ukyo added as she pulled out her portable grill for the lunch rush hour.

Now, you all must be wondering why on earth am I sick at this point. Especially, when Tofu sensei said opening up my chi points would help my health improve… Well, he meant that I wouldn't get as much attacks from my already ailing body. Not complete immunity to all sicknesses… So my dear friends, I am sick with the flu and Ranma's chaotic life is not helping me recover any faster.

"Katsuya-kun! Aren't you going to help!?" Akane snapped at me as I blew my nose into a tissue.

PantyhoseTaro… I think I'll just call him Taro for short. That is just a horrible name, I agree with him wholeheartedly about it. I covered my mouth in a cough, standing under a near by roof. "Ranma can most likely handle himself." As soon as I was done, Ranma was plowed to the ground quite soundly. Taro turned his attention to me. I covered my mouth and coughed again. "I'm not the person you're looking for," I said softly.

He glared and stomped near me before pulling out a sign. "Where is Happosai?"

"I don't know," I answered before he grabbed me by the collar and pulled me out of the shelter of the roof and umbrella and into the rain. The cold touch of the rain water jolted a headache through my head… ah damn it, I let it went too far and a fever is knocking up… I was hoping my body would fight the sickness before it becomes full blown.

"Stop picking on Katsuya-kun! He's sick!" I watched Akane bash Taro with her mallet, but it doesn't see to affect him much if any at all…. Ah another thing I don't like about being sick, I'm completely detached from most feelings… save for irritation. When he backhanded Akane into the fence, I didn't feel outraged, worried or even amused… just kind of empty.

"Where is Happosai?" he thrust the sign in front o my face again.

"I don't know." I repeated monotonically. Oh look at the pretty black spots in my vision… how did I get on the ground? The rain is getting cold…

"Someone help!" I faintly heard Akane shout before sitting up and putting a hand to my forehead. Scalding… "Katsuya-kun!" Akane hurried to my side. "Can you still walk?"

"I'll be fine, just a little dizzy," I responded quietly. Everything sounded so loud.

"I'm taking Ranma back to the dojo do you want to—"

"I'll be able to get home alone," I answered as I picked up my umbrella and walked away from the worried looking Akane.

It was a good distance away before I materialized my fan. The truth is, I don't think I can get home quick enough by feet. Snapping the fan open I used chi to float up before gliding on my fan. I felt the fan shaking a bit as I glided through the rain, but nothing else really mattered except to go home and take a nice hot shower… Somehow I lost consciousness without knowing it and everything just blacked out… I hope I haven't died… that might be a bit troublesome to getting home…

o.o.o.o.o

"… sure the idiot… he fallen out of the sky, the moron." I faintly heard Shiyu's lazy drone. There was a faint mumble, but I couldn't hear it. It was very deep. Shiyu snorted. "… usually… Tendo Residence…" More mumbling from the other person… who is she talking to? Shiyu laughed at the other's comments… I wonder what got her laughing.

"Heh, get better quickly princess," the mocking drawl was definitely from a guy… Hmm… shouldn't I be cursing at this point? … Fuck… Yeah… that sounds about right… Oh look, the pretty black spots are back again…

o.o.o.o.o

The next time I woke, I felt slightly drowsy, but at least the headache was gone. I noticed more subtle things too. One, I was dry and dressed in comfortable pajamas… a very sweet and beautiful feeling of warmth. Two, I was a girl, the lack of support on the chest is quite noticeable. Three, Shiyu wasn't around… probably feeding, she did say she usually feed when I'm sleeping. Fourth a bottle of water was my by bedside for easy access. Brother did say drink lots of water when you're sick… or he'll whip up Aunt Shanshan's medical teas…

I was reaching for the bottle of water when I noticed the fifth thing. Something warm was next to me and I'm quite sure Shiyu does not produce body heat of any sort. Her pale complexion barely flushes even after she feeds. Temporarily ignoring the much needed water, I moved my hand to pull back the covers slightly to find a young man sleeping quite soundly next to me. My guess it's Taro… Shrugging, I pulled the cover back over him and reached for my water.

After quenching my thirst, I capped the bottle and slipped back under the covers to fall back asleep again. There are times I wished I was a bit more aware of my situation when I'm sick, but sadly unless it's something important like midterms and such, I rarely notice.

"Do all Japanese girls act like you?" Taro asked smugly the next morning when I was cooking breakfast and making lunch.

"Hmm?" I responded about a minute later. As you can see, my brain hasn't caught up with my situation yet… maybe I should just call the school and have the day off.

"You should just take the day off to recover if you're going to be like that," he commented again.

"Hn…" I sighed and packed up the lunches.

He slammed his hand on the coffee table… and it broke under the pressure of his hit. "Don't you have any other responses?"

"What exactly do you want me to say? Or ask? I'm quite certain Shiyu was the one that invited you in to stay. I can't do anything against you even if I wasn't sick. Or is it that you wish for me to lay down peacefully and you just smash my head like you did to my table?" I responded almost automatically, not even giving my brain time to sensor what little was coming out of my mouth. "Breakfast?" I ended the conversation before picking up the second plate of food I made… hmm… must be the habit I picked up when I know someone else is in the house…

He accepted the food. "Heh, you know who your betters are, transvestite."

"I'm quite sure," I responded before moving to clean up the mess he turned my table into. "Did you happen to find Happosai?" The plate cracked under his grip. "I see… Well, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. If you're still here tonight, be careful that Ranma might crash through that window at some point…" I shrugged tiredly before glancing at my watch and sighing. "I'm going to school…" I muttered before walking out.

It wasn't until half a block later I realized that Taro and I never introduced ourselves to each other while in our normal forms and I just casually mentioned Happosai… I shrugged at the thought and continued to school, I don't seem to care at the moment. Another thing I realized… I went out in my girl form… Fortunately, the curse's water magnet curse was quite effective and I was promptly splashed by a passing car. Despite trying to go through the school's boring curriculum, I spent most of the day in the infirmary due to Akane's_convincing_ argument of putting me in there herself.

"Well, are you dead yet?" Shiyu's sardonically amused tone drew me out of the restorative slumber.

"Not yet," I responded tiredly, not bothering to get up from under the covers.

"So what made you think it was a smart idea to go flying with a hundred and two degree fever and in the RAIN, dumb ass?" she commented dryly.

"It was cold…" that was my lame excuse… didn't have any other in my head at the moment.

She raised a brow at my straight face. "You must be sicker than I thought." She shrugged before hopping off her seat. "You're lucky that socially inept boy caught you when you fell… though he did try to smash you into a wall afterwards…"

"Sounds like him…" I sighed. "Exactly how did you get him to stop?"

"He can't kill me," she shrugged. "And he's pathetically slow… hmm… you might be able to match his speed."

"Everyone is slow to you," I responded before gulping down half the bottle of water next to the bed.

She shrugged. "Had he been anyone else, I would have him killed for attempting to kill you… but since he's trying to get at Happosai, I'll make an exception."

I blinked. "How would you kill him? He's a freaking flying Minotaur!" At least he looks like one. Whatever bull shit they said drowned there, I argue it's a flying Minotaur!

"Easy, he needs sleep while I don't. He's affected by drugs while I don't. He's slow and I'm fast. I can poison him in his sleep if I want; even if he knows how to fight in his sleep he won't be able to match my speed. Martial artists are still human. They'll wear down eventually long enough to kill them. There are many ways I can kill a person without fighting."

"And I won't ask unless I want to kill someone… How's the house guest?" I muttered.

"Happosai hunting," she chirped happily.

"You know where Happosai is?" I raised a brow.

She glanced at a watch on her wrist… when did she get a watch? Do vampires even need one? "Well, he should be running out of Furinkan with some undergarments soon."

"HOTCHA! WHAT A HAUL!"

"Shiyu…"

"Yes moron?"

"You're the one that's been stalking Happosai and switching his food with Akane's cooking lately haven't you?"

She grinned. "And here I thought you didn't want to hear my other methods of killing people."

"I'm still filing that under poison and torture," I responded dryly before a scream went through the air. "I'm guessing our houseguest is here…" I sat up groggily debating should I really bother getting up… Shiyu sat across from me with an amused grin. "Ugh… They can go fuck themselves… I'm going back to sleep." As tired as I am, I couldn't fall back asleep with all the noise they were making.

"Don't push yourself," Shiyu smirked in amusement as I staggered out of the infirmary.

o.o.o.o.o

Oh man… where am I? "Damn it, he took Akane!" Ranma snapped. When is she isn't kidnapped?

"Hey, what's wrong with stupid boy?" Seems like we're sitting at Nekohaten at the moment... I arrived at the scene just as Taro flew off with Akane. I must've passed out at some point.

"Katsu is sick," Ranma answered.

"Just that?" Shampoo snorted before walking out of the room. I didn't bother to open my eyes.

However, just as I least suspected it I felt a hand yank my head up by the hair and something bitter poured down my throat. I struggled against the grip as I tried to cough up the liquid. "Shampoo! What are you doing!?"

She released me after the last of the liquid was gone. "I'm okay, Ranma." I coughed before licking up the dribble at the corner of my lip. I recognize the taste. It's aunt Shanshan's specialty cold medicine. I turned to smile brightly at Shampoo. "Thanks for the medicine Shampoo-san."

"Oh? Stupid boy know about Amazon medicine?" She stared at my suspiciously.

"Ah…hahaha…" I laughed weakly. Damn, I forgot only Aunt Shanshan knew how to make this…

"Xian pu, leave our guest alone." Cologne hopped in, in the nick of time.

Their little brainstorming was pretty pathetic. Since they can't find Happosai, they're just going to go head on in a frontal assault… was there really a need to sit through this? Then again, Ranma doesn't know everyone have their own purpose in going. Shampoo is planning to kill Akane, Mousse wants to kill Ranma and Ryouga wants to save Akane for himself… and Ranma is just there to kick Taro's ass I guess… Well, now you know how everyone else sits in this battle… what purpose do I have? I'm not really that motivated to go save her or fight Taro.

And yet, I find myself the only one facing him, everyone got knocked off after they turned into their cursed forms. "Heh, so the princess has finally gotten better."

I sighed. "Where's Akane-san?" I asked dully, not really wanting to fight him, but it seems like I have no choice.

"I'm not giving her back until I have Happosai." He glared at me.

I glanced back over the edge, Ranma wasn't back from Taro knocking them a distance. "You know, you can just tell them why you want Happosai and they'll help you. It's much faster that way and they won't have to attack you."

He laughed boisterously. "And pass off the chance to test my strength? This powerful body would be wasted! I'll crush every last one of them, including you and that little friend of yours." He frowned. "Why is she not here?"

"You mean Shiyu?" I felt around the area with my chi… she wasn't anywhere… no unfamiliar chi whatsoever… "She's not fond of Akane. She won't be helping at all."

"Pity, but I guess I'll have to beat you to death until she comes out," he smirked before lunging forward to attack me.

Just as I dodge, he cracked the ground beneath us and splashed himself in cold water. I materialized my fan just as I went over the edge of the cliff. Good thing I learned how to do this before he appeared… man, I'm guessing after Taro, more dangerous characters would start showing up soon. This is so troublesome. I angled the fan to dive to dodge another swat from Taro.

"KATSU!" I glanced down Ranma was running along trying to catch my attention… Well I'm useless when I'm busy concentrating in flight. So, I pretty much can't fight while I'm flying. I dived down again just long enough for Ranma to jump on before taking the fan back up again for him to attack Taro without the danger of turning into a girl.

Of course, eventually Taro decided it was annoying to fight fairly so he destroyed my fan. Ranma had managed to hop onto his back while I fell, but worry not, I could fly without the fan… it's just wastes more chi compared to gliding. I quickly got out of Taro's range while he scuffled with Ranma. From this height I glanced around for Akane and found her struggling to break away from the pantyhose he used to tie her up with. Shampoo and the others have returned with the arsenal of hot water… better stay away from them.

Feeling my chi reserves dropping, I quickly landed near Akane before helping her out of the pantyhose. "You flew," she gapped with wide eyes.

I can only duck my head down in embarrassment I don't know how to explain it to her. "We should get out of here before Taro manages to come back, Ranma would be able to handle himself." She reluctantly agreed with me and hurried down to stable grounds.

Occasionally, we glanced up to check on Ranma's status, but he was fine overall. The struggle between them eventually lead them crashing to the ground when Ranma slammed a fist into Taro's head. I can only wince as that crashed. After turning Taro back and tying him up. He finally woke and told his story to Ranma with much reluctance. The group was struggling to think up with a plan to help Taro when I felt a familiar chi. I walked away from the group without them noticing before turning round the corner. I found the old cretin tied up in a neat bow.

"Shiyu…" I sighed and glanced around for her, but she remained hidden. I pulled the unconscious Happosai from the tree and walked back to the group. "We won't have to do much, I found him tied up back there…"

"Found him?" Ryouga questioned. I shrugged before Taro ripped Happosai from my hands shaking the cretin awake to demand the change of his name. Of course, we all know how that ended. Happosai said no and was taken to go through a _convincing_ argument from Taro.

"Oi princess," Taro called to me. I glanced up startled by the nickname he gave me… I really don't like that nickname… "I'm going to be back." I tilted my head in confusion, why the hell is he telling me that? He turned to Ranma. "Transvestite, the next time we meet, I'll kill you."

"Bring it on!" the idiot responded. Taro smirked before running off to splash himself and fly off. Good riddance… oh man… now that the adrenaline is over… I feel…

"Katsu?"

"Katsuya-kun?"

"Oi Katsuya!" I faintly heard them calling out to me before I passed out… Aunt Shanshan's medicine is not a miracle worker. It'll help the cold if I'm not stressing my body, but since I was… I guess this was the result!

o.o.o.o.o

After that incident, I was stuck at Tofu's clinic for about two days puking my brains out and running a high fever until my flu was completely over. Ranma came bugging me about what Taro said to me and about teaching how to fly… personally, I don't know if it's teachable. It was luck that I managed to learn it myself. More insignificant and outrageous things happened to Ranma as the week went on. I wasn't really paying attention by this point. It's such a normal occurrence to Ranma that it's hard to really get amazed by anything. There doesn't seem like anything I can really do to help him either. I thought I wouldn't get involved in another mess with Ranma… boy was I wrong.

"You let go of Shampoo now! Shampoo has airen already!" I halted my blades and glanced up from my new scripts when I heard Shampoo's struggling.

Peeking around the corner I found her accosted by this brute of a man. I frowned, judging by how our dear Amazon would be able to kick the asses of most commoners in Nerima; this guy must not be from around here. His blatant curiosity of the female body without the perversion of usual men is also somewhat strange. He acted almost like a child when groping Shampoo… but then again it might be one of those sickos that gets a kick from playing innocent and ends up raping her while using that face the whole time… I've been hanging around Akane too long… I'm going to get my ass kicked aren't I?

I materialized a fan and tossed it at his head. Surprisingly, it actually hit! Unfortunately at a price, he was on my tail faster than I expected. I barely had time to blast myself into the air to avoid his attacks. My eyes widened at the damage he did to the spot I formerly stood at. Claw marks… inhumane… a neko-ken user? No, he would have to be completely berserk working on only instincts. Animalistic characters… who can that be? I wish my memory didn't suck this badly. I have the nagging feeling that I know who the hell this is, but just can't remember.

"Fucking hell," I hissed and dodge another attack from him. His jumps are crazy! I can't make half of that height even if I reinforced my legs with chi. Chi blasting into the air was a different matter, but I won't get into that right now. I glanced back down to see Shampoo running away… suuuuure, leave me to deal with your molester. Bloody tart... There are a lot of people I have to stop hanging around with.

"You made the female go away," DAMN IT! I got distracted! The last thing I saw was a fist coming at my face. After that it was just pain and my hands covering my nose trying to keep it from bleeding, but regardless of my efforts I felt the blood drip through between my fingers.

A high pitch… sort of a mix between of a gasp and a whimper was made by someone. When I realized it, I was thrown to the ground… when was I picked up? "Stupid boy!" Shampoo…

"What the hell did you do to Katsuya-kun!?" Akane…

"Bastards!" Ranma, the idiot is not thinking again… I mentally sighed as I heard the conflict.

"Enough!" Cologne's wizen voice commanded the store… I think we're in Nekohaten… where else does she go anyway?

"We're going, Mint, Lime," a quiet voice spoke. Despite how the speaker attempted to speak lowly, I could still detect the faint signs of soprano in most girls' voices.

"You guys have some nerve! To kidnapped the un-cute tomboy! And to put Katsu in this state!" I was sure Akane was going to retort, but she didn't. "You're going down!"

"Son-in-law! You mustn't—" Cologne's words were dead to his ears.

"Shut up!" I don't need my eyes to tell me… Ranma is such an idiot.

"Heh, the idiot," Ah, our lady friend here agrees with me.

I felt soft hands pulling mines away to treat my injured nose. I think he might've broken it… There was a firm grip at the bridge of my nose before the hand yanked it straight. I didn't even have time to scream about the pain before my nose was plugged up with something. A cool cream was lathered on top of my nose afterwards. Whoever was doing this to me had distracted me from a good portion of the battle between Ranma and this… girl? Hmm… I really wish I can recall who this person is…

"Mint, the ladle," the girl commanded. Ladle? I cracked my eyes open briefly just to see Ranma-chan get splashed and the other girl. Very regal, majestic even… a princess? It's the fight of the royal bitches! HELL YEAH! I found myself giggling before I could hold it back. I curse the moments where my thoughts are completely nonsensical and I laugh at my own stupidity.

"What is stupid boy laughing about!?" Shampoo hissed and covered my mouth I felt a smudge of cream from her fingers to the side of my face. Oh, so it was her that treated my wound.

The princess glanced over to me for a mere second before turning back to Ranma. "Consider yourself lucky that I spared your life. Let's go, Mint, Lime."

"W-wait! The duel, it's not—" the trio left the restaurant without responding to Ranma's call for battle.

"Stupid boy okay?" Shampoo has a cute frown… I wonder if I'm getting delirious from the blood lost.

I grinned like an idiot, for some reason I feel all giddy! "Sank huu!" My voice is all nasally with the clogs in my nose. She rolled her eyes before stepping away from me for me to get up by myself.

"Who were those guys?" Ryouga asked… when did Ryouga get here?

"They're from the Musk tribe. Hmm… and here I thought they were gone. They're still flourishing." Cologne murmured thoughtfully.

I felt the smile slip from my lips. Musk tribe, a tribe of animalistic men descended from the animals they trained with. Ladle, a magical item that locks the curse form of the individual it's being used on. Princess, a victim of the ladle… Victim… Herb… Prince of the Musk. Descendant of Dragons. Crazy son of a bitch with kick ass moves. Oh my fucking Ra! Dangerous people! DANGEROUS PEOPLE! Must run! Must flee! Must not get splashed! Must not! Must not! MUST NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

Beeeeeeep, you have reached the mental break down department of Katsuki Shinochi! Please wait as the operators reboot the system. While you're waiting, please enjoy a delightful elevator music…

"Well, so much for playing hero. Right idiot?" I blinked rapidly as my senses returned to normal… How did I get home? Why can't I remember more than a few minutes of events occurring today?

"Uh…" I responded. Can't you see the remarkably thoughtful look on my face from the sound of that? I just _ooze_intelligence. And if you haven't noticed, I'm using sarcasm. I'm oozing something, but it's not intellectual thoughts.

Shiyu snickered before slapping her knee in a harsh laughter. "You've really messed yourself up this time."

I snorted. "I didn't see you there to save me. Oh _great_ guardian of mine."

She fanned it off. "An offset nose won't kill you… but if he smashed your nose upwards on the other hand…"

"Geez, I feel so safe and protected by you Shiyu," I responded cynically raising a hand to cover my eyes, but hissed in pain when I brushed against my nose.

"Don't stress yourself, _dear_." She cracked up laughing.

I sighed in irritation as I concentrated chi to my nose, it's not going to miraculously heal the instant, but at least it's killing the pain. "I can't afford to get stressed. If my body goes into a panic attack, I doubt you can do much to help me."

"Hmm?" I cracked an eye open to see Shiyu casually rest her chin on her folded hands.

"What do you want?" I sighed.

"Are you going to play hero again?"

"Unless my life depends on it, no!" I snapped before wincing… no angry face, angry face hurts!

"Well, then I won't have to worry much then. Hmm… maybe I'll have some Chinese tonight," she smirked before disappearing out of the window. I'm not sure should I question whether it's Chinese people she's feeding on tonight, or people that had just eaten Chinese food.

My stomach grumbled… better get myself something to eat too… just as I entered the kitchen, my window was plowed open by a frantic Ranma; she grabbed onto my arms and started shaking me. "BLOOD, BLOOD! OH KAMI-SAMA THE BLOOD!" She was shaking with her eyes wide open.

"What are you talking about?" I said calmly trying to pry her hands off my arms, it's starting to hurt.

"I went to the bathroom and then, and then! THE BLOOD! OH KAMI-SAMA THE BLOOD!" she was hysterical.

"Blood?" I blinked curiously before I noticed something on my floor… "Blood…" I said before my eyes widened. "BLOOD! Oh my god you're…" I bit my lower lip cracking up. "You're having a period! BWAHAHAA!!!!" I broke away laughing.

"A what?" Ranma-chan said uncertainly, but when I didn't stop laughing he poked my nose.

"OW!!!!! OW!!!!!" I jumped away cradling my nose.

"You know why I'm bleeding!" She grabbed me by the collar with fury in her eyes.

"Easy! Easy! Watch the nose!" I yelped trying to calm the smaller girl… yes, I'm taller than Ranma-chan! "It's completely normal! Girls bleed every month!"

She stopped. "It's… normal?"

I sighed irritably. "I'll explain it to you later, now go to the bathroom and sit at the toilet until I come back. I don't want anymore blood on my floor. That's with your pants down, or the blood would soak through."

"I-I'm not going to die?" she asked.

"It's completely normal… By the way, why did you come to me? You could've gone to Cologne or Tofu sensei." I asked as I shoved her towards the bathroom. She said nothing. "Ah, forget it. Just stay here and I'll be right back." I said before walking out of the bathroom.

I was about to walk out of the apartment when I realized something… It's completely normal for girls to go buy those things… but for a guy… Better go as a girl. I went to the kitchen to dunk a cup of hot water on myself before filling a thermos with hot water. Just as I walk about to walk out again, I remember I was still wearing my guy clothes… Ugh… the old fashion ladies would not leave me alone if I walked out like this… I sighed and walked back to my drawers and rummaged around, hoping to find something I don't often wear… but instead, I found the outfit Takeshi made for Suki.

My eye twitched, someone up there hates me to death. I don't get a moment of peace when they decide it's time to fuck with Katsu's life. I scratched the back of my head in irritation before quickly changing into the stupid outfit and walking out to go buy the stuff. I flushed in irritation at the cold breeze blew between my legs.

"Damn Takeshi, I'm going to kick his ass for making such a useless outfit!" I grumbled as I pulled the skirt a bit lower. So much for trying to torture Ken. Maybe I should get Ranma to help me get some normal clothes for when I actually need to walk around as a girl. I hurried to the closest shop to look for the item…

…

…

…

…

…

AW FUCKING HELL! CLOTH!? I paled at the lack of disposables. I'm sure they have some right? RIGHT!? I ran from isle to isle looking for the disposable ones. "No…" I whined and dropped to my knees. I never used cloth before! How the hell am I supposed to explain to Ranma!? I sighed and went to buy about five sets of the cloth sanitary napkin and a few panties.

"You're a female right?" It's one of the musk… This one is one Mint or Lime?

"C-can I help you?" I found myself stuttering.

"Herb-sama said to find girl and bring her back."

"What?" I yelped before I was hauled off my feet and slung over his shoulder. "HEY!" I protested, but was quickly hauled out of the shop and taken a distance away. "Let go of me damn it!" I struggled to keep the damn skirt down. Maybe I should've just walked out in my guy clothes.

"Herb-sama! I found a female!" He said before tossing me onto the ground.

Not wanting to fall painfully on my bottom, I grabbed onto his shoulder and landed on my feet instead. "You can leave now Lime." He bowed and left.

I stumbled away from him before glancing back and forth from the door to Herb. "Um… may I ask why I'm here?"

"Just some questions. Do not worry, we will not hurt you." Herb said.

"I guess that's fine…" I said uncertainly. "What do you want to ask about?" I can't help but stare at him… er, her… Is she blushing?

"Is it… common for blood…" whatever she said next didn't reach my ears. I was busy trying not to laugh… but I couldn't help it, I burst out into giggles. Herb's face flushed even more.

"S-sorry!" I covered my mouth trying to stifle my laughter. "It's very normal; I was just dealing with someone with the same problem. It's something that happens to girls every month."

"Every… month?" Herb glanced at me curiously.

"The place where the blood is coming from; is the womb, where the child would be held if the girl has consummated with a man. However, if the girl has not consummated, the inner walls of the girl's womb would shed monthly. It's called a menstrual cycle. It's perfectly normal and healthy for that to occur." I explained brightly.

The blush disappeared from her face and paled instead. "C-consummate, with another man? Child?"

"Of course, a man can't give birth you know." I said, biting back a grin. This is so much fun. "I must warn you not to eat cold stuff during your menstrual cycle. Or else it'll be unbearable, it'll feel like being ripped apart inside… hmm… I guess that's where the mood swings come in next." I grinned again. "During this period, the hormones in the body are a bit unbalanced and you'll feel emotions to the extreme."

"I see…" she muttered under her breath.

"Are you having a period?" I asked innocently with a straight face. Her face flushed again. I rummaged through the bag and grabbed one of the cloth pads and panty and gave it to her. "It'll keep your clothes from getting dirty. It's the cloth type so you can just wash it and you'll need to wear a panty for this. You should change one every two to three hours, depending how much comes out… so…" She flushed again. "Don't be embarrassed, it's completely normal, oh yeah, you should also be careful on how you move, since this is cloth, it'll leak… do you have any other questions or can I go?"

The blush disappeared from her face as she placed the cloth aside. "That is all… I will have Lime escort you."

"That's okay!" I said in a hurry. "I don't need an escort!" I laughed sheepishly. "Good luck with having your first period! Bye!" I couldn't help but put in that last jab before running out of the place. I found my self laughing the whole way back to my apartment, anxious to repeat the same little speech to Ranma.

"Ranma! I'm back!" I said as I came back and set down the usual things before heading into the bathroom with the cloth pad and panty.

"GAH! Who the hell are you!?" she screamed.

"What do you mean who…?" I glanced down at myself before rapping her over the head with the cloth. "It's me you dumb ass! Just because I'm wearing a skirt, you can't recognize me?"

"K-Katsu?" She said with widen eyes.

I rolled my eyes before ripping the package open and glancing through the instructions quickly. "Now, before you freak out on me again, you're going to need to wear this with panties."

"WHAT?!" She roared in outrage.

"You can't wear this with boxers or you'll get blood everywhere." I reasoned.

"It's unmanly!" he argued.

"You're not a man at the moment," I retorted. "Stop being so stubborn, it's natural for a girl's body to bleed every month."

"EVERY MONTH!?" she gapped. "What the hell is this!?"

"It's called a menstrual cycle or a period. It's the shedding of your inner walls when it's not being used." I answered.

"Walls? Not being used?" She tilted her head in confusion.

I sighed and decided to be blunt. "After a girl and a guy fuck each other, that's the place where the baby is created and held until it's time to come out. So if there's no baby, there is no use for the walls and they come out as all this blood. It comes once a month, so if you get fucked and it doesn't come the next month or two, you're pregnant and wa-la, you're a mommy."

"You mean I can get pregnant!?" She gapped in horror.

"Pretty much," I grinned… I'm cruel aren't I?

She continued to pale as I patted her shoulder and led her to the door. I think Herb took it much better than how Ranma took it… but then again, I didn't exactly say it the same way I told Herb. Once I taught her how to use it and deal with the usual proper hygiene and whatever other problems like diaper rash with her, I ushered her merrily out of the door. She was stiff as a board and pale as a ghost… I think I did my part of the job of torturing Ranma for today.

I was expecting a few days of peace when Ranma goes of on a search for the kettle with Ryouga and Mousse… but I ended up getting dragged off to help him because of his little period problem. He argued that he couldn't go change without them questioning where he's going… I guess I should be nice… or not.

"Stop laughing damn it!" Ranma stomped his foot furiously. If he hit me, I would tell the others, so he's pretty much stuck with whining like a little girl.

"What exactly is so funny Katsuya?" Ryouga asked.

"Nothing," I responded innocently when Ranma glared at me. "Are you sure they're around here?"

"They should be around here, from what the old bag said," Ranma said. "Can you go up and look for us?"

Well, there was another reason for me being there. Flapping my fan into existent I climbed on and floated up before taking flight. I couldn't see, but I can definitely feel. The Musk tribe radiates chi. They're not like a candle like how Ranma and the others, but flaring spotlights. I quickly glided back before they spotted me. When I got back, I couldn't help but sweat drop at the amount of monkey attacking them.

"Erm… I found them…" I said after they dealt with their primate problem.

We managed to catch up pretty quickly and scuffle between the three started up again, I made sure to stay away from them during the battle. Not surprisingly, they didn't ask for my further assistance since they're proud idiots that think they're above all. The fight between the Musk and our local idiots was amusing to a point I guess.

Ryouga and Lime were a fight of power and Mousse and Mint were one of speed. As for Ranma and Herb… It's the fight of the PSMing bitches! I held my sides giggling, trying my best to not let them notice me laughing at their struggle to kick each others' asses and not have their pads leaking at certain movements. Eventually, the battle ended when Ryouga and Mousse foolishly doused themselves with the ladle… Idiots, what made them think they can cure themselves with it?

Another series of scuffle started up again, before they moved the ladle close enough to the kettle's range and started glowing and pointing to the direction of the kettle. It was a fight to the kettle; Herb obviously was the one to get there first and to turn back first. I expected a shout of triumph when he was turned back, but a grimace was on his face. I wonder what gave him discomfort, until I saw the careful movements of his legs.

I swear my face was turning red… but not for the thoughts you may think I have. I was able to watch Herb blast a few chi blasts at Ranma before I give into my needs and started laughing to my earnest, busting a lung and my gut while doing so. "Pads… KYAHAHAHAA!" I saw both Herb and Ranma freeze at my comment, giving me a death glare, but they quickly noticed what each other did and flushed furiously.

The battle was furious and harsh, I've even seen a tornado from Ranma's Rising Dragon attack after Herb's little sob story about his first encounter with boobs. The battle was beautiful and violent at the same time, I found myself trembling at the excitement watching each blow exchanged and returned. Eventually, the battle escalated to the point where the idiots collapsed the whole mountain.

"Shit! RANMA!" I shouted as I angled my glider to go towards him faster.

"Katsu we can get out ourselves, help them, Herb's out! Catch up with us later!" Ranma ordered before jumping away with Mousse and Ryouga before I can even protest.

"Hurry up and pull him on," I said to the two. They didn't think twice before hauling Herb onto the fan and I forced to float away from the chaotic crumble of the mountain. It's quite hard with the weight of this load of people, but I somehow managed to get them a good distance away before plowing to the ground in a tired heap. "Is everyone all right?" I struggled out a tired question before the fan disappeared and I landed on my back breathing heavily.

"Oh look! Herb-sama has boobies!" Lime said enthusiastically.

I slapped his hands away from Herb's chest. "Knock it off. It's a big no-no to touch there. Go get a wife if you want to touch boobies. Aren't you supposed to be protecting her instead of molesting her?"

"It's a bad thing?" they asked… the Musk really need to educate their men about women before letting go into society, desensitize them a little at least.

"I don't think you want people to grab you down there," I said dryly before trying to get off the ground, but found myself collapsing back unable to move my legs… "Aw man, not again! I went overboard… It'll be hours before I can walk again!"

"Ngh…"

"Herb-sama!" Lime and Mint said as they helped their princess up… hehe, I still can't stop mocking Herb's gender problem in my head.

"What happened?" Herb groaned.

"You and Ranma collapsed the mountain, very smart with collapsing it while you were still there." I found the sarcastic remark leave my mouth before I remembered who I was talking to. I felt beads of sweat rolling off me as she stared at me. "I-I mean, I…"

"You were that girl the other day." Her response took me by surprise, what gave me away!? She raised a finger to flick at my nose.

"YEOWCH!" I yelped in pain and held my nose. My hand brushed against the bandage Shampoo placed over it. "Oh…" I realized she recognized the bandage. "Um…" I laughed sheepishly, not really sure what to say, when the stupidest thing came out of my mouth again. "Was it useful? Though, I recommend changing out of it before you go back to being a guy again."

Herb was confused at first before her face flushed brightly. "You, are you a female or male? What's your curse from Jusenkyo?"

"That obvious huh?" I sighed in defeat, it's pointless to really hide from them anyway, and they'll just ladle me if that's the case. "I'm a girl of course! What men would know that well about…?" I bit my tongue when Herb gave me a stern look. "Never mind…" I responded from my spot on the ground. "The clouds look nice today."

At the corner of my eye I saw Herb raise a brow, but he said nothing. "Herb-sama, it's a good thing that Ranma fellow got this guy to transport you out, or else you would've been crushed under that."

"So, you saved me?" Herb asked me.

"I… guess?" I shrugged. "It's hard to say no when I'm already there." I grinned. "Well, at least no one got hurt. Are you guys heading back to China soon?"

"Why do you ask?" Herb questioned.

"Um… would it be too much trouble to help me back to Nerima before you go? I exhausted my chi reserves… ah...ha…ha…" I laughed sheepishly.

She only stared at me for a moment before a smile graced her lips and she turned away with a shake of a head… Ever so graceful, I always liked cold characters. I was taken home by Lime as he was the fastest. Once he dumped me in my apartment, he left via the window… I'm so glad I had a doggy door installed there.

"No more hero work huh?" I groaned at the drawl.

"I know, I know! No need to rub it in. I am a complete idiot." I said dully.

"Hmm… maybe training you was a bad idea after all, you're getting too bold." If I could move, my body would stop moving this instant. "I taught you, only to defend and protect yourself, not to risk it for the lives of others. You're going to be developing a hero complex at this rate."

"What are you going to do?" I asked almost meekly.

She sighed. "Cutting back your training would just make it more dangerous for you if you decide to play hero again… but there really isn't much left to teach you. Your main problem is that you're a novice; you haven't gotten the experience or the instinct of a fighter and can't pull out more than half of these basic moves effectively."

"But I wasn't fighting," I protested.

"You were at the collapse of the mountain, while not fighting, quick thinking and fast movement is still needed. Just think if debris had broken off and flew at you when you weren't paying attention, you would've been knocked unconscious and crushed!"

I see her point… "I'll try not to next time."

Shiyu snorted. "Don't count on it; you're just like your parents, hot-headed and brash. I'll see you in two days for training," with that she left.

However, there was something bugging me about what she said. She didn't refer to my dad or Ranma in this case. She said _parents_ as in plural, both mom and dad. Mom and Kasumi don't seem like the type to do anything similar to it at all. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Does she mean Kasumi is not my mother then? Did dad cheat on mom to have me? Which fiancée did he cheat with? I'm going to fucking kill him! How could he cheat on mom!? What the fuck was he thinking cheating on mom?! I wasn't sure how long I was mentally cursing at dad, but eventually I fell asleep with murderous thoughts of how to mutilate my dad into unrecognizable slabs of meat.

o.o.o.o.o

"It's not my fault!" Ranma shouted to Akane as they ran away from the entire Nerima Wreck Crew (NWC). And how do I know this, you may ask?

"I seriously doubt that, this time Ranma. I'm with Akane-san on this one," I retorted icily as I bladed along side them, trying to get away from the crazy crowd. I was out buying my usual groceries when Ranma ran past my apartment… And that is on the EDGE of Nerima!

"Katsu please, can we get a ride on your—"

"No! I only use that on emergencies and this is not an emergency!" I know I shouldn't be mad at him, since he hasn't done anything yet to Kasumi, to mom, but I can't help it! I'm just so angry at him!

"THIS IS AN EMERGENCY KATSU!" Ranma shouted back.

I glanced back to see a dark shadow chasing us before blasting the NWC back to the various places they're usually at. I pulled out my fan quickly and jumped onto it before the shockwave blew me a good distance away. I wasn't about to have myself slammed into a building of any sort, controlling myself in flight is much easier compared to me on the ground… I guess it's from Shiyu's training… or maybe it's the nature Saotome aerial fighting style…

I shook my head from these thoughts, they're not my parents, and they're not my family. They're fictional. Yeah, they're fictional, so I'll just treat them normally just long enough for me to get home. Angling my fan sharply, I turned the fan to go back to the Tendo residence. I feel something big coming… or it could be just the sky darkening and the lightening streaking across the sky and a ship coming… oh, right… the ship… This time I know who came to play.

"Prince Kirin." I murmured to myself as the shimmer or wire from the ship to the Tendo Residence. "I shouldn't interfere. After all, it's supposed to happen—WHAT!?" My eyes widened in horror, when it wasn't Akane being taken.

"Oh my!!!!" Kasumi's sweet voice echoed into the air as she was drawn up to the ship.

"No, no, NO! This wasn't supposed to happen!" I screamed before hurrying my fan to the ship. Just as I neared, I jumped onto the ship with my fans out and ready to attack. I was faced with Monlon, the only female out of the group of seven. Gods or no gods, no one kidnaps my mother and gets away with it.

"A pitiful boy," she raised her nose in disgust.

"Give Kasumi-san back!" I snarled.

"Katsuya-kun!" I glanced over to see Kasumi being restrained by Ebiten, the fishing rod user.

Kirin walked forwards and thrust his hand out to block my passage to Kasumi. "She is to be my wife, she has the other half of the scroll; therefore she will become my queen."

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME! GIVE US BACK KASUMI-SAN!" I screamed again before throwing my fans at him and materializing a larger fan to use as a staff. He caught my smaller fans with his chopsticks in ease while the halberd using man blocked my frantic attacks.

It didn't take long for him to overpower me and shove me back. "Peasant, no one touches Prince Kirin."

"Fuck him!" I roared as I stumbled back to catch my footing. I slammed my fan on the ground to stop sliding back before snapping it open to block the thrust from the halberd. The blade pierced my fan, nearly stabbing me in the chest if I wasn't pushed away the last second.

"Get out of here you idiot!" My eyes widened at the sight of the blade in Shiyu's chest. I felt all anger disappearing from me as I watched her yank the blade out and disappearing with dark blood oozing from the wound.

"Shiyu," I could barely find my voice to even say her name.

"Katsuya-kun!" I faintly heard Kasumi's terrified scream.

It wasn't until Ranma screamed, "KATSU!" that I finally realized I have fallen off the side of the ship when I was shoved.

I materialized my fan as quickly as I could and pulled it under me, but it wasn't quick enough as I plowed into the Tendo living room. I watched weakly as Kirin and his ship took Kasumi away, but I couldn't get mad. Instead, my head keeps telling me to laugh because I pulled a Heero Yuy with my crash… My brain has the most inappropriate thoughts during chaos moments… and now I just need a Gundam with a self-destruct button to complete my impersonation of Heero Yuy… hmm… there seems to be something missing from my impersonation… I wonder what…

"What do you think Katsuya?" Nabiki asked me.

"Omae o korso…" Ah, that was what I was missing. The declaration of death, I am going to kill you.

"W-what?" Nabiki backed away from me.

I slowly stood up and walked away from the group quietly, but I was sure that I had most of the room watching me as I left. Something is wrong; I really want to get angry. Why can't I get angry? I have to get angry! I NEED to get angry! They took Kasumi, they hurt Shiyu! Shiyu! She's hurt! I have to find her! I clenched my fists and tensed my leg muscles before I darted down the Tendo halls. No one moved to stop me.

I ran around Nerima trying to sense Shiyu's chi for the day. It was faint, but a definite lock. I was so panicked I hadn't even realized that I was flying instead of using my fan. By the time I reached her chi signature, I was exhausted. "SHIYU!" I screamed out her name, not really caring for secrecy anymore. She's already dead… or undead in this case. So she can't exactly die, can she? "SHIYU!?"

"Oh shut up you melodramatic idiot! I'm not dead yet!"

"Shiyu?!" I turned around frantically looking for her, only to find her laying down a stranger. "You were feeding?" I asked in puzzlement.

Her red eyes reverted to the warm brown I'm so used to and her fangs receded. "I heal faster if I feed. That blade wound is nearly gone, one more and I should be back to full health." She sighed almost tiredly.

"How many have you fed on?" I asked.

"Just one, it was a minor flesh wound, it won't kill me that easily… but man, what wouldn't I give to have some wizard blood right now! That would heal me up instantly and keep me full for a few days a least." She sighed again as she stripped off her jacket and examined the spot the blade pierced. "Hmm… it actually went through, must be a very fine weapon. It's normally not that easy to cut my clothes. Well, at least I had this or else it would've ripped a good chunk out of my chest," she laughed.

"Rip a good chunk?" my voice cracked.

"Good thing you weren't the one that got hit or else you would be dead right now," she said before shrugging the jacket back on. "Now, do you see why one should not play hero, especially with your abilities?"

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Well, sorry is not going to cut it, just be sure you don't do it again," she said nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry…"

"Yes, I heard you the first time," Shiyu drawled dully before strolling up to me and knocking me gently on the head. "Idiot, stop trying to blame yourself when it's not your fault dumb ass. Sure, you could have avoided this whole mess if you just stayed out of the fight, but what's done is done. Stop being so melodramatic and get your act together, didn't your future mother get kidnapped? Aren't you going to do something?"

Right, Kasumi is still in Kirin's grasp. "But I'm no help; I only seem to make the situation worst."

"Good, then stay here where it's safe and I don't have to protect your weak little ass from getting killed. I'm not obliged to protecting anyone other than No-chan's bloodline." I'm not sure was she serious or not with that tone.

I sat there in silence, quietly thinking over what happened. Shiyu was patient… or rather she was too tired to care, she actually took a nap against the tree while I was thinking. Regardless if I went, Ranma would still go after Kasumi; his martial artist's code makes him unable to back out when someone is in need. I'm not tied to such obligations, I don't have to go if I don't want to… but it's Kasumi, it's kaa-chan… I can't just let some stupid prince take her away.

"Shiyu?" I whispered, not really wanting to wake her, if she was sleeping.

"What?" she responded without even opening her eyes.

"I want to go after Kirin and get Kasumi back… Is that okay?" I asked uncertainly, I really don't want to get her hurt again because of something stupid I did.

She sighed and cracked open her eyes. "Do what you want; I'm just in charge of watching over you. I have no control over what you want to do."

I smiled. "Thank you."

She jumped up and clapped her clothes clean from dust. "Well, are you planning to take on all seven alone? Or are you going to join Ranma?"

"Right… I guess I should head back to the Tendos…"

o.o.o.o.o

When I went back to the Tendos, the group had already left for China. Nabiki was there giving me a curious look over and Akane was there to ask me if I felt better. However, she was still quite furious that they all left her. I'm still going to try going after them anyway. I shouldn't have ran out like that earlier… but at least I'm not rushed compared to them, I can take a little time to prepare some basic supplies like first aid kit, food, some clothes and more importantly, some money for the ship ride back. Knowing their luck, whoever's ship we're going on, is going to sink.

I managed to get a ride to China as soon as possible. The only trade off, is that I'll be sharing the ride with Lychee and her elephant, which means, it's going to sink, the moment we find Ranma and Kirin. "HELP! OVER HERE! MAN OVERBOARD!" Oh well, too late. The scuffle between Lychee and Ranma's party was amusing, at least until they noticed me.

"KATSU!?" Ranma-chan screeched.

"Yo," I grinned sheepishly and waved.

Lychee turned to glare at me, "You're with them?" I guess she didn't see me back at the Tendos.

"Not at the moment," I would much prefer to stay dry as long as possible, thank you very much. I swore I hear Shiyu snicker somewhere.

"TRAITOR!" Ranma-chan snapped at me furiously.

"I'm not the one down there," I reply merrily.

It took nearly sinking Lychee's ship to allow them to board and stay boarded. After that little scuffle with Ranma, I actually stayed pretty quiet and out of the way when Lychee was commanding them on how to take care of the ruined ship. I'm really worried for Kasumi. Unlike Akane, she's not going to attempt to trash their supply of pickled food or even hit that alarm… How are we going to find her then? They're traveling by sky and the clouds are concealing them.

"What are you thinking?" I flinched and glanced up to Ranma-chan's voice.

"I'm worried for Kasumi-san… If it was Akane-san, I wouldn't worry that much. Since she would probably trash the place and flare the alarms, but Kasumi-san…" A felt a hand patting my shoulder.

"We're all worried for her. We'll get her back." She murmured. I glanced up and noticed the full moon… I wonder… How much of the series was actually real? I broke away from hugging my legs and stood up. "Katsu?" I materialized my fan and took flight into the sky. "Where the heck are you going!? Katsu!"

I can feel it. Kasumi's gentle chi. I remain afloat in the air before pulling up the fan and swung forcefully at the clouds. I generated more chi with each swing and eventually, I made a dent in the cloud and revealed the ship. I barely pulled my fan up in time to block off the arrows that shot out of the ship before I released the chi keeping me up and just fell back towards the ship. I held the fan behind me to glide the normal way. When I landed on the ship, they were already preparing to board the ship with Mousse's grappling hooks and various other weapons on his person.

"Katsu, take me up." Ranma demanded. I couldn't say no, after all… it is kind of romantic for him to save Kasumi anyway… in an odd sense.

We were the first to board and the first to get attacked… Shiyu must be pissed, but that can't be helped. I hardened my fan to block the array of weapons being tossed at us. Ranma only stayed behind my fan for about a minute before she jumped out and charged to attack. Shortly after, the rest of the group was boarded. I went for the man with the halberd with Soun and Genma. While I kept his weapon busy, Soun and Genma was busy throwing sucker punches at him. After a while though, I was getting tired and had to leave the rest of the fight to the elders.

Glancing around, I found chaos among chaos, but Kirin and Ranma was nowhere in sight. "Over here idiot," I felt Shiyu's small hand grab onto my arm and dragged me into the ship. "Ranma ran in here a while ago.

"How the heck did he avoid that mess outside? He's a chaos magnetic!" I argued with myself… yes, you read right, myself. Shiyu was actually being quiet.

"Oh? Seems like your dear mother is cooking," Shiyu grinned.

"Cooking?" I took a sniff and realized it was Kasumi's cooking. We ended up following our noses to the kitchen. There was a loud crash before I hurried in. "Kasumi-san!"

"Oh my!" I walked in, to find Kirin face down on the ground twitching while Kasumi has a hand covering her mouth. "Maybe I put a little too much hot sauce in the soup," she moved her hand to cup the side of her face.

I bit back a giggle as I grabbed onto her hands. "Kasumi-san, where is the scroll?" She pulled it out of her apron and handed it to me. I pocketed the scroll before running out with Kasumi; I'll give it to Lychee later to get that crazy bitch off of Kasumi. If given the chance to, I would've just burned the damn scroll and kicked Kirin in the balls. Had I did that though, I would have those assholes after me for who knows how long!

Hmm… maybe I will kick him in the balls before I go. I made a swift kick to his lower regions earning a reprimand. "Oh my! Katsuya-kun, you really shouldn't have done that!" She tapped me on the nose and waggled her finger.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, but not really meaning it, that guy deserves another ten kicks to the crotch and never reproduces again. At least Kuno doesn't kidnap people… well, the brother anyway. Can't say the same for Kodachi.

"Katsu! Kasumi!" Ranma shouted as she ran in… have you noticed the large amount of Ks in names just now? Hehe, my brain is being weird again. Chi-chi-chi-chia! It grows like hair! But it's really grass, yeah, yeah, yeah! Oh man, I'm starting to sing commercial jingles now… The three of us manage to run out to see the NWC piled up and readied to be tossed off. "Katsu, take Kasumi back to the boat, I'll handle them."

Not one to complain, I grabbed around Kasumi's waist before jumping off the side of the ship with the fan out and ready. I felt an extra weight at the bottom of the fan, but I'm guess it's just Shiyu. Unfortunately, it was Ebiten, just as we jumped off, a wire from the fishing pole wrapped around my neck and dragged us back onto the ship.

"No one takes the prince's bride without repercussion!" he snapped before whipping the pole. I grasped onto the wires on my neck with one hand and the one attached to his pole with the other. I can already feel the thin wires cutting into my skin.

"Damn it!" I hissed in irritation.

"Die!" he shouted and forcibly pulled the rod. I closed my eyes not wanting to witness my own death. However, it never came. I cracked an eye open before both my eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh my, I hope I didn't hit him too hard," Kasumi said as she wielded my materialized fan… how is she holding that? Better yet… why hasn't it disappeared yet? It usually disappears when it's gone from my hand for too long. "Katsuya-kun, are you all right?"

I snapped out of my daze and pulled off the wires from my neck. "I'm just fine."

"Get them!" I snapped up to see our NWC completely defeated and the others coming at me. I placed a hand in front of Kasumi as we backed away.

"You cannot get away. Kasumi _will_ become my wife." Kirin glared at me, limping slightly. Hehe, balls less. "With you dead or alive, it doesn't matter."

"Who do you think you are kidnapping people like this!?" I snapped furiously and pulled out my fans. A hand grabbed onto my arm to stop me from fighting.

"Please don't fight," I turned back in surprise at Kasumi's sorrow filled words before pulling me behind her. "I'll go with you, in exchange I wish for none of my family and friends to be released without harm."

Kirin smirked. "Of course my future wife."

"Kasumi-san," I grabbed onto her arm, bur she only smiled and gently removed my hand.

"Take care of everyone for me, Katsuya-kun." She whispered before walking towards Kirin.

I was then forced to stand with the others as they tilted the helm of the ship. I watched as they held Kasumi back from trying to run to us. As we fell, I watched everyone clinging onto Happosai and onto the rope that was tied to him. I on the other hand impaled a newly materialized fan on the side of the ship and sat quietly until we reached Kirin's tower. I made sure to be quite a distance away so they wouldn't try to latch onto me instead. I can't hold the materialization for long if I had extra weight to support. It wasn't until Ranma's girlish scream turned into a guy's scream, that I realized we were going through a hot waterfall.

"Fuck," I whispered before bracing myself. I felt the change instantly when my chest area tightened significantly. I kept my chest bound for instances like this. How Ukyo manages to keep up with this is a mystery. The group had fallen after the strike from the hot water. I remained on the ship until it's docked.

"This way, Kasumi-sama," said Ebiten as he escorted her out. I waited until they were gone before jumping off from my perch and landed on the ground tiredly, a little lightheaded from the heated water. A moment later I found myself doused with cold water.

"You okay?" Shiyu asked before tossing the bottle aside.

"Just tired," I answered truthfully.

"Then we better find you a place to rest for a little while. Ranma and the others will take a while to get up here, if I hear what they said right." She said.

"You probably heard right," I stumbled forward with some help from Shiyu.

"Come on, you need a nap." Shiyu said before ushering me forward with caution. It wasn't long before we found a closet for me to nap in for a few hours… not that I have to worry, I had the scroll safe and sound in my possession. They can't continue the wedding without it… So… nighty-night, I'll see you all in a few hours.

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsuya WAKE UP!" My eyes snapped open when Shiyu yanked at my arm forcefully and I sat up taking only a brief moment to rub the crud built up at my eyes while I was sleeping.

"What is it? What happened?" I asked quietly, just incase there were people around.

"They're looking for the scroll," Shiyu said, peeking out of the closet door. "And from their irritation, Ranma's group is getting up here pretty quickly."

"Are we in any danger of being found out?" I asked, not really wanting to move yet, I'm pretty near my limits and I really don't want to stick around when Ranma brings the whole tower down.

"Not at the moment, but we should probably get going soon." She said.

I sighed. "All right, when's the next opening for us to get going?"

"Now," She responded dryly.

My muscles cursed at me as I got up and hurried after Shiyu. As we were running, I glanced out a near by window and found the group plowing Ebiten over, with Mousse carrying Monlon as he went. Hmm… This means I should stay away from Kirin until Ranma gets up.

"Shiyu, wait a sec, I really need a few minutes," I heaved my breath a little to show my tiredness, which I really didn't need to do, I was tired enough already.

"We don't have that much time," she argued, but made no attempt to force me to go up the steps any higher until I was ready.

I waited until I heard the screams of the others before I hurried up with Shiyu closely behind me. By the time I was one flight from reaching the top, Ranma and Lychee caught up with me. "Katsu! I thought you fell off!"

"I managed to grab hold of something," I said sheepishly, Shiyu had hid when Ranma appeared. "Let's hurry…"

"All right, everyone ready?" Ranma asked the two of us. We nodded before we charged in.

"Ranma-kun!" Kasumi shouted but Kirin kept a firm hold of her at her waist.

"Where is the other half of the scroll!?" Kirin roared at us.

"Back where it belongs," I snapped back. "Just as where Kasumi-san should be, back home with her friends and family! Not a fucking kidnapper like you!"

"SILENCE YOU PEASANT!" Kirin roared before sending an attack at me. I didn't have enough chi to produce another fan for a shield, but the attack never touched me. Shiyu had once again saved me by putting herself in front of me and took the full blow before disappearing again. Even so, I still found myself slammed up against a wall. I felt the scroll falling out of my jacket and rolled to the ground.

"Katsu!" I heard Ranma shout before he gave a battle cry and went after Kirin.

It was somewhat hard keeping my consciousness after that, my body was exhausted. The last thing I noticed was the hot water gushing up from the bottom of the tower and once again turned me back into a girl again before Ranma pulled another rising dragon attack. After that, everything was a complete blank in my mind.

o.o.o.o.o

The next time I awoke, I felt the warm embrace of someone and the calming pulse of the heart against my ear. The scent was intoxicatingly soothing like kaa-chan. When I was fully awake, I found out it was really Kasumi that was holding me on our trip back.

"Katsu! You're awake!" Ranma said happily as he jumped up from the ground and hurried over to me. Strangely it was only the three of us in the room.

"Where is everyone? What happened?" I asked groggily.

"Hehe, I beat Kirin! And after that we traded Happosai and the scroll to return home."

I blinked. "You traded Happosai?"

"Yeah, the old bastard put up a pretty good fight, but we managed to get him tied up in a bow for Lychee and Kirin's wedding present." He shrugged.

I shook my head. "A wedding present? After what they fucking did to Kasumi-san?"

"Katsuya-kun, a lady really shouldn't talk like that," Kasumi scolded me gently.

"I will damn… wait, what did you say?" I struggled to get up as I gapped at her.

"Don't worry, only Kasumi found out about your curse during the whole mess," Ranma waved it off. I groaned, that wasn't the problem… well, maybe it was… but the problem is, another person knew! My secret isn't going to be kept for long if this goes on!

Since it's Kasumi… I guess it's okay… "Please don't tell anyone Kasumi-san," I begged tiredly.

"Of course I won't tell Katsuya-kun, but I do have one request," she said.

"Fine, what is it?" I'm too tired to care.

"I want to know your real name. I don't think your parents really named you Katsuya." She smiled brightly.

"Yeah, I never found out your real name Katsu," Ranma said in curiosity.

I grinned weakly. "I guess it should be fair… Nice to meet you. My name is Katsuki Shinochi."

"Nice to meet you too, Katsuki-chan." Kasumi smile brightly and ruffled up my hair fondly. I found myself smiling in content as I fell asleep in peace without a care in months.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: (stretches in relief) Well, that was one heck of a chapter.

Koganei: I'm sure you all have plenty of questions for this chapter, so don't be shy about asking.

Mokuba: She was supposed to add something else to the end of this a/n, but her memory sucks so badly, she can't remember anything.

Killua: So FRI and we'll see you after winter break… or something…


	13. Chapter 13

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

**Chapter Thirteen: The Song that Soothes the Heart**

I was peacefully repairing my damaged fans when… "LION'S ROAR BLAST!" The ground shook; I caught my mug of tea before it fell off the edge of my new coffee table.

"They're at it again," I sighed before sipping my tea and placing the mug back at the center of the table.

Ryouga apparently has finally learned how to do that damnable chi attack… though, I'm quite sure he was supposed to know it before Herb came… not really sure, everything seems to be out of order or something. I got up to open the window before walking into the kitchen to prepare some snacks. It's only a matter of minutes before one of them come flying into my apartment.

"Damn it!" Ah, so it's Ranma.

"Don't you even dare think about punching a hole in that wall Ranma, or I'll be having breasts for dinner tonight," I commented and I returned to the table with the snacks.

"Katsu!" he flushed in embarrassment at my words. I shrugged; I wasn't in the mood to being polite and clean in my mindset today. "I usually say I'll have pork, but seeing you're here instead of Ryouga, I think it's justifiable to say breasts instead of pork." He stared at me for a bit, momentarily distracted by my randomness. "Well, are you just going to stare dumbly at me? Or are you going to rant about how Ryouga defeated you?"

"He did NOT defeat me! Ranma Saotome does not lose! This is just a minor setback! I'll beat him just yet!" He declared furiously.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," I murmured as I clamped tightly onto the frame of the fan with my pliers trying to keep the damn thing still while I struggle to pull the cloth into place. The frames were custom made, but I put in the cloth myself. After all, I can't let the guy who makes these know what I use, or else he'll charge extra. Besides, I'm adding something new.

"So… what are you doing?"

"Nothing of your concern," I sighed as I finished and snapped the fan close and open again to test it. I grinned when it made a sound I like.

"Are you doing something new with your fan?" Ranma asked curious, he must've heard the sound difference as well. I snapped the fan open before waving it gently.

His ear twitched. "Is that this whistling?"

I grinned and pulled the fan sharply upwards before snapping it close. "Kind of neat isn't it? Though, I'm not really sure it'll be useful yet, it's still on testing stages."

He sighed. "At least you have something to master, I don't even know what the hell to even start on! How the heck does Ryouga do it!?"

I shrugged. "I haven't started on this martial arts thing until I came to Nerima… but I did notice something about Ryouga, he seems more miserable than usually…"

"Miserable?" he perked up at the thought.

"Don't you even think about it, it's not worth it," I murmured as I checked the rest of the fan to make sure nothing is loose. "Long term depression or a long term of any emotion would only do more harm then anything else."

"Is that why you're so apathetic most of the time?" I paused and glanced over to him. "Don't try to deny it Katsu. I'm not the smartest person around, but I'm not stupid either." I didn't say anything as I went back to fixing my fan. It wasn't long before Ranma decided he won't be able to get me to talk and left for the Tendo residence.

Once he was gone, I dropped the guise of fiddling with my fan; I was done with it the moment the fan played its lullaby. "That was interesting; he's not as much of an idiot then he usually appears."

"Shiyu, are you sure it's going to take a full year before that mirror is fixed?" I sighed exasperatedly.

"The date isn't going to shorten just because you want it to," she commented dryly as she strolled over and snatch up my fan curiously. "Why did you find the need to make your fan into an instrument?"

"I got bored and wanted to slack off from the translations," I grinned cheerily. "What I told Ranma was just a load of bull shit."

"I… see…" Shiyu sighed before smacking me over the head gently. "Get your ass up girly, time for training if you have that much free time to spare."

I flinched. "Um… can I go back to translations?" For those of you that can't see Shiyu at the moment, she has the most frightful smile. It may seem gentle to those who doesn't know her, but as her disciple of sorts… I am terrified.

"Come on can't you do any better than that girly!? Get your ass up in gear!" her voice cut through the air like a hot knife on butter… okay, I know my metaphors suck, sue me.

"Mercy, mercy, mercy!" I half chanted, half screamed as I ran from her attacks.

"You have to fight back at some point girly!" Shiyu roared as she snapped her whip at me. My fan appeared instantly to block before I jumped on and took flight.

"PRIDE OF THE FIERCE TIGER!" A white blast flew from a distance away. I couldn't help but stare in awe at the light. Compared to Ryouga's green blob of misery, this was almost pretty.

"Where are you looking at girly?" I yelped as Shiyu caught my throat with her whip and hauled herself onto my fan.

I grasped onto the whip gasping for air. "G-get off!" Yeah… ninety pounds of pressure wrapped around your throat can do that to you…

"You're not always going to get opponents that would let you off easily, so get your ass out of this yourself," she said as she leaned over the edge of my fan.

I landed the fan before I stood my ground. I reached back to pull out my new fans to swipe at her or at least poke her with as a stick. My attempts were pathetic; already, my vision was slowly fading and I struggled for breath. It's all right; she won't kill me anyway, so I shouldn't worry. I was expecting to lose consciousness any time soon.

"DELIQUENTS!" screech a little girl's voice. Oh no… I barely had time to turn when I felt my energy getting zapped away and I fell to the ground soundly. "How dare you attack a fellow student!? Come back here!"

"Shut up fool," if I had energy I would shiver. "Your insolence will not be tolerated."

She's going to be feeding. By the way, this isn't the first time I've witness her preparing for a feeding. Shiyu has this quirk she picked up from over the years. She does not feed from children, elderly, sickly, druggies and pregnant woman. Though, what's more important is that she would not use allure or as she fondly names it, the sex beam, by hypnotizing the other person to be completely infatuated with her. Instead she uses the allure to scare the crap out of her victim and paralyzing them in place before she attacks.

"W-what are you going to do!?" the woman's voice was terrified. A low rumble of laughter from Shiyu made the woman collapse to the ground in horror. I could hear her gasping breath and the scratching of the clothing on the ground as she trembles in fear.

"What do you think I'll be doing human?" she hissed.

"Shiyu stop," I whispered weakly as I struggled to crawl up from the ground.

"Silence," she hissed. "I shall feed at my leisure!" Oh, did I mention when she does one of these things, she goes all out until she's done.

"You said you wouldn't feed when I'm around!" I whined, yes, it's a whine.

I absolutely hate it when she feeds around me. As she is a defective vampire, her allure does not control the person, it just affects them as an external problem, rather and internal one. In other words, if she uses it, whoever that is in the location would feel her intent. Meaning, I am getting scared shitless at the moment with this woman.

"Why protect this woman? She has wronged you, she must die," she hissed again. Another thing, Shiyu has a thing against killing, when she said she'll kill you, she's not serious... at least I hope she's not serious.

I struggled to push myself from the ground. "Stop it," I said again.

"I shan't," responded my defective guardian.

"B-boy! R-run while you can!" the woman shouted to me. I didn't have the energy to turn to her.

"She has seen our exchange, she must die!"

"God damn it! Can't you stop for once! Just wipe her memory and leave her alone!" I argued irritably.

"Wipe my… memory!? DELINQUENTS!" the woman seemed to have gotten her wits back.

I don't have enough energy to fight her off, but I still have those three… I closed my eyes and quickly opened the last three chi points before I felt that restrictive feeling back at my chest and eyes. My breathing became heavy and harsh as the chi rushed through my system. I barely managed to jump out of the way as the woman screamed something; the tree behind me seemed to have wilted. Why is she attacking me? Can't she see I'm only trying to help?

"Delinquents!" It's that word again, that hateful word, that damnable word. Why does everyone insist on calling me a delinquent? Mom did her best to keep me from being one. Why the fuck do they keep calling me that? What the fuck did I ever do to them!?

My vision turned red, I felt my face warm up and the back of my eyes pulsing painfully. "I'm not a fucking delinquent you ungrateful bitch!" My chi rushed to my hand and materialized my glider fan.

"Delinquents!" I was quite certain she said something else other than that, but I couldn't hear anything other than that hateful word.

With a quick sliding of my hand over the metal surface of my fan, it snapped open and hugged close to my arm. Everything seems to slow down as I whipped my fan around and strike at the woman. That word, delinquent, repeated in my head again and again in that horrible screech. I can't stand it! My attack missed as she scrambled out of the way. I screamed furiously, irritably, outrageously, I'm not even certain what I want to call it.

"Burn in hell, bitch!" I faintly remember myself roaring, my body was acting on its own.

My fan lasted only minutes as I used it to slash at the woman and blasting her with chi enhanced squalls. By the time I snapped open my new battle fans, I found the restrictive feeling fading slowly. The red slowly disappeared from my vision. The woman was on the ground cowering away with some scratches and cuts and coins scattered all around her. My fan was aimed at her neck, only inches away from touching it. My body was trembling as my breathing slowed down to a quiet whisper.

"D-Don't kill me," she whimpered and backed away. I watched in horror as her body shrunk into a child's, it's Hinako sensei. My grip slacked and the fans dropped to the ground, whistling the lullaby as it fell.

"I'm a monster," I whispered as I backed away from her.

"Listen to my voice as I say this," Shiyu's calming voice started. "Sleep and never remember of this incidence ever again and I will spare your life." Hinako's terrified eyes slowly closed as she slipped into a peaceful slumber.

"I almost killed her," I whispered to myself in disbelief.

"You did pretty well today. Slipped into your berserker mode a bit unexpectedly, but that is usually the case with berserkers. Well done," Shiyu complemented. One that I don't think I've earned, but I'm too tired to argue. I quickly closed off the three flaring chi points and found myself completely exhausted and without energy.

"Will she be okay?" I asked meekly.

"A little wind never hurt anyone," Shiyu snorted before turning on her heel to face me. "She'll wake up in a few minutes thinking she fell. Now go home, or do I have to escort your girly ass back home too?"

"… I'll be able to get back on my own… You're probably hungry right?" I whispered.

"Get over it girly. Training in two days," Shiyu said sharply before she left me alone.

I glanced over to Hinako's slumbering form for a moment before I picked up my fans and slowly trekked out of the desolated park we fought in. It was a slow trek back to the apartment, my body aching with each step I took. The image of Hinako's fearful face and tearful eyes was burned into my mind. I suddenly felt very cold.

"Katsuki-chan, are you all right?" a gentle voice snapped me out from my zombie march back to the apartment.

I glanced up only to be met with Kasumi's worried eyes. "K-Kasumi-san," my voice cracked as my breath heaved painfully at my chest.

She moved to grasp my hand gently before leading me along. If I wasn't so torn, I would have noticed that she lead me back to my apartment. By the time we entered my apartment, I broke down crying in her arms. I wasn't sure what I was blubbering to her, but she sat there understandingly, whispering reassurances and rubbing my back soothingly. I found myself being lulled to sleep by her lullaby. I'm a monster… but you know what? There is always music to soothe the beast.

o.o.o.o.o

The next time I awoke was when my alarm rang for the next day of school. Groggily I slapped the damnable thing silent before snuggling deeper into my covers; I don't want to go to school today. It took a moment for me to realize I was back in my natural form and dressed in my pajamas instead of the clothing I wore the day before. I flipped to my stomach before I noticed a note next to the alarm. I grabbed it lazily and flipped it open.

"I hope you're feeling better Katsuki-chan, I made you some food before I left. I didn't get a word you were saying earlier, but if you still feel like talking, you can come over after school. Kasumi," I finished the note quietly before burying my face against the pillow laughing. I don't know how much more of this world my sanity can take.

The alarm rang again… I pulled my covers over my head and slapped the alarm silent again. I don't feel like going to school today.

o.o.o.o.o

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK_

I awoke to the incessant knocking at my door… Who the heck still uses the door to my place? They usually come from the window. Groggily, I snuck a hand out of my covers to grab my alarm clock and glanced at the time. It was nearly four in the afternoon. I must've slept the day away. Reluctantly, I crawled out of my warm covers and staggered to the door before irritably yanking the door open.

"May I help you?" I drone out tiredly, trying to keep my temper in check, scratch the morning person thing, I'm not a person period when I first wake up. I blinked when I didn't see anyone.

"Oh, did I get the wrong house? Young lady is this residence of Katsuya Shinochi?" I glanced down to see Hinako. "He wasn't at school today and I'm doing house calls for the school."

"Katsuya-kun isn't home today, he—"

_CRASH_

"Katsu! You weren't at school today and— YOU!" I sighed and side-stepped as Hinako drained Ranma dry and walked into to haul his body out of the apartment.

"Sorry to have disturbed you. Please inform Shinochi-san that he is expected at school tomorrow… And young lady which school do you attend?" She asked.

"I'm twenty," I lied. "I just share the apartment with Katsuya-kun; it cuts the bills in half."

She huffed. "Well, that is very indecent! Do you dress like that while he's—" I slammed the door in her face. I'm not in the mood to deal with her teachings. It's enough that I'm haunted from nearly killing her, but to get scolded again?

"Young lady open up this door!" She banged on the door loudly, demanding I open it.

"This is ridiculous," I murmured before grabbing a change of clothes and a hair tie.

Leaving from the front is out of the question, so I'll just have to leave through the window. I picked up Kasumi's bento and my music player before bounding out of the apartment on my fan. Living at the edge of Nerima has it perks; it's easier to get to wide open spaces.

It took less than fifteen minutes for me to fly to a remotely grassy land. I thought I was going to have a moment of peace out here enjoying my homemade lunch from Kasumi, but I must've gotten my dad's gene for being a trouble magnet. I was in mid-bite when it happened.

_POP_ _CRASH_

"Bloody potion! It always blows up at the most inconvenient times!" I slurped up the noodles before glancing up at the nasally foreign voice. It had a distinctive British accent… or it could be Australian, I could never tell them apart. "AH DAMN IT! Where the heck is my nose!?"

I blinked when she turned around and her nose was clearly missing and blood oozed from the gapping hole in her face… I wasn't exactly sure why I wasn't disgusted, but I guess her cursing up a storm and looking around frantically for her supposedly missing appendage had something to do with it. She was dressed in pantsuit with a torn black robe over it, I'm guessing whatever potion she was messing with, destroyed that article of clothing. I was just going to go back to my lunch when I found said missing nose in my lunch.

I sighed in irritation as I picked the bloody appendage out of my bento with chopsticks. I placed my bento aside before getting up to walk over to the foreigner. "Miss, are you looking for this?" I asked almost dryly.

"My nose!" She cried almost happily as she hurried over to grab the appendage and plant it back on her face. Her hand glowed briefly before the nose melded perfecting back. "Thank you so much! Would you happen to have a tissue?"

I blinked before handing her a tissue to clear her nose of the blood clog. "Are you a witch?" I couldn't stop myself from asking such an obvious question.

She paused before glancing over to me. "Are you not a witch as well?"

I blinked. "Pardon?"

She placed her hands on her hips in exasperation. "I'm asking are you not a witch yourself? If you possess no magical abilities, you would have just not seen me."

"I don't have…" I paused before chuckling. "I guess being cursed counts as having something magical."

The woman perked up almost excitedly. "What type of curse? I haven't done curse lifting for quite sometime! May I lift it for you? Please? Pretty please?"

My eye twitched as I backed away from her. "I'm quite fine with my curse at the moment…"

"But curses always turns out bad in the end! Let me please!"

I backed away a few more steps. "That's okay! I don't even know who you are!" It was only a brief second before she appeared in front of me and grabbed my arm, hauling me off to who knows where.

"Never fear! Faye de Audley shall right you once again! I am a Potion Master and Potion Inventor, I'm highly qualified." She gave a laugh that eerily resembled Kodachi's, raising a hand and snapped her fingers before I can protest.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's safe to say… I've just been kidnapped… I hate you dad. "Miss Audley?"

"Please call me Faye… hmm… I haven't gotten your name yet!" She dragged me along merrily before shoving me into a seat in front of a table littered with books and notes.

"Just call me Katsuya," I replied as she walked about the room waving her hands as she went. The books and notes reorganized themselves and neatly sorted back into shelves that are in this private study.

"Sorry about the mess, I was researching about memory wipes. Do you know how infuriating it is to have an apprentice take the day off because of a pimple problem!?" She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "If I didn't want to prove that damn geezer Riolu wrong, I would've just taken a male apprentice. Is it so much to ask for one female apprentice that can care less about their looks and more about their skills?"

If I didn't hear Riolu's name, I would have just classed her as a feminist. "You said Riolu, he's an old wizard right?"

"I thought you said you're not a witch. How did you know about Riolu?" Faye asked suspiciously.

"I have an acquaintance that knows Riolu and he's currently doing something for her," I answered sheepishly.

She huffed. "What did she get that geezer to do anyway? I can make it a hundred times better!"

"It's a broken magic mirror."

She paused, "Broken mirror? And a magical one at that?" she pondered for a moment. "Those are usually very hard to deal with. How long did Riolu say it'll take him?"

"A year… um… if you don't mind me asking, where am I?"

"Le Havre." She answered casually.

I paused… "That wouldn't happen be in France… would it?"

"Qui! West of Paris." she grinned. "Surprised by my lack of accent didn't you?"

Now what is the normal reaction for a person to have in this situation? … Whatever those answers are; mine is to laugh. "HAHAHAHA!" I hugged my sides giggling. "This is so messed up." I grinned and glanced over to Faye who was waving her hands over the mess of cauldrons. The mess cleaned up itself magically, but she manually handled the ingredients that still lingers.

"You're quite a peculiar young woman aren't you? Never mind that," she placed her hands at her hips. "Now what was that curse of yours?"

"It's easier to show it to you before I explain. Do you have a glass of cold water by any chance?" I asked. She snapped her fingers and a glass hovered in front of me. "Thank you," I took the glass before dunking it onto myself.

The change was instant, the disappearing and reappearing of body parts is nothing to me by now. Ever since Ranma came to me about his girl problems, I occasionally forget that I'm even in my girl form when I'm at the apartment.

"Amazing! Is it truly a full transformation?" Faye asked excitedly as she patted my chest curiously. I was a bit irritated at the invasion of personal space, but at least she kept her curious prodding above the belt. "Adams apple too!" she murmured to herself as she felt around my neck. "Speak! I want to hear the voice difference!"

"I don't think there's much of a difference, I have a husky voice for a girl."

"A pitch lower, but not by much." She hummed as she prod me some more. "Where exactly did you obtain this curse?"

If you're asking why I'll letting this woman do this to me… well, the answer is that she has a very, very frightening dog sitting right under the table I'm sitting at. I've very terrified to what she might have that dog do to me. "Some part of China. It had a valley of cursed springs. Whoever falls into it turns into the last thing that fell in and drowned."

Faye frowned a bit before stepping back and motioning her hands towards the shelves, a book flew out and zoomed into her hands… I'm not sure should I follow Shiyu's thought of wizards and witches being lazy asses… or just follow my instinct to scream FREAKING COOL look at the flying books! They go whee! … But hey, that's just me.

"Hmm… I don't have much on eastern sorcery…" She muttered to herself.

"Um… I rather not touch the curse; since it's very unstable… being a guy isn't so bad… I just can't wear dresses anymore… not that I liked them," I muttered the last part darkly. Mom seems to love putting me in pink frilly dresses.

"Hmm… Where did you say this spring was? China?" There's a glint in her eyes. I may not have known her for long, but whenever someone has a glint, it's a bad thing. "OH, HO, HO! This is a challenge to Faye de Audley! Don't worry Katsuya dear. I'll find a cure for your situation. The only payment I ask of you is to let me show you off to Riolu when I get it done! Okay? All right! Just wait for me to come get you okay?" She grinned brightly before snapping her fingers.

"Hey I didn't—" seconds later, I found myself landing in a koi pond painfully.

"Katsuki-chan?" Kasumi's voice rang through the air.

I glanced up with one eye closed as my hair was dripping wet. "Hehe, sorry to drop in like this," I grinned sheepishly.

"Are you feeling all right?" Kasumi asked worriedly.

"I'm perfectly fine…" if not a little weird out by my odd day. My stomach growled before my face flushed. I guess that little trip with that weird witch distracted me from eating lunch.

Kasumi giggled. "Why don't you come in and dry off while I go make you a snack to eat? My father and uncle Saotome had gone out a little while ago and won't be back until dinner. Come on!"

She smiled warmly before hauling me out of the water and shoving me to get changed while she went off to make food. Interestingly enough, I was wearing her clothes again. I was walking back to the kitchen when I heard that lullaby. I felt the stress melt away as I leaned against the door frame, a song that soothes even the beast.

"Wearing my sister's clothes again Katsuya?" Nabiki's amused voice made me open my eyes. "I might start thinking you actually enjoy cross dressing." She's not too far from the truth actually.

"Just had a little accident when I passed by," I responded warmly.

"So why weren't you at school today?" she asked almost suspiciously.

"I had a little run in yesterday and was attacked by a strange woman. I couldn't get up this morning." It's almost truthful.

She raised a brow. "This woman wouldn't happen to have used a coin, did she?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Five hundred yen," she responded almost immediately.

I laughed. "That's okay sempai, I'm sure I'll find out eventually. After all, how many martial artists are here without a reason?"

"We're home!" Akane's voice boomed into the house as the door slammed shut. Nabiki and I walked over to the entrance curiously. "Katsuya-kun! What are you doing here? Never mind that! Can you help carry Ranma to his room?" Akane said before tossing his sorry ass into my arms. "I had enough of his nonsense for today!" She huffed before storming off.

I grinned. "At least she was nice enough to carry your sorry ass back neh?"

"Shut up," he mumbled weakly.

The door slid open. "Excuse me," I twitched at that voice. Hinako was at the door.

"Hinako sensei! What brings you here?" Nabiki asked almost in mock cheeriness.

"Nabiki-chan! I'm just doing house calls. Is your father home?" She asked chirpily before noticing me. Her eyes narrowed almost immediately. "Do I know you young man?"

"I believe you visited my house earlier and I wasn't home. I had some matters to attend to with the company I'm working with. I hadn't had time to file an absence with the school." I'm getting so good at lying… I really shouldn't be proud of this. Mom would be so disappointed.

"… Well, remember to file one next time! And tell that young lady in your house to dress better before tending to the door! Who knows what strange might take advantage of her!?" She scolded.

I laughed sheepishly. "I don't think anyone would dare do anything to her at that state. She's quite violent. Ah, excuse me; I need to drag Ranma-kun back to his room. He seems a bit exhausted today."

Hinako hmphed. "That delinquent deserved what he got."

"I'm quite sure Hinako sensei." I said light-heartedly before hauling Ranma off to his room.

"Suck up," Ranma muttered.

"I'm not the one that needs someone to carry his lifeless ass around am I?" I said before _accidentally_ ramming his body into the banister. "Oh look how clumsy of me."

"You're doing this on purpose!" he mustered as much energy he could to accuse me.

I grinned. "What are you going to do about it weenie?"

"You jack—OW!"

"What was that you said Ranma? I didn't hear you?" He muttered dark deeds under his breath and spouts of revenge he'll take against me when he gets his energy back, but I'm not worried.

"Katsuya-kun, the food's ready," Kasumi shouted from the stairs below.

"Coming!" I said before tossing Ranma into his room carelessly. Why should I bother with being gentle anyway? He can take it, besides I have the goddess that can soothe any beast with a gentle melody on my side. Heh, I'm getting a little insolent with my placement in this reality. I wonder what sort of punishment I am heading for at this rate. "Looks great Kasumi-san!" I said brightly as I dug in.

"There's still more if you want," Kasumi responded brightly.

"I'm quite sure I'm heading for seconds!" I responded with much gusto. Whatever punishment I'm heading for, I'm willing to take it straight on, just to see my reality once again.

o.o.o.o.o

Cm Aeris: (laughs nervously) um… sorry for the long wait? (hides behind Killua as the readers tosses whatever vegetables and injurious items at her) I have no excuse. xD

Killua: The chapter didn't turn out the way she wanted it to, but she'll get back on track on the next chapter.

Koganei: We're quite sure you've noticed some new characters, but they won't play a big role! So don't worry!

Mokuba: Other than that FRI!


	14. Chapter 14

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

**Chapter Fourteen: Unwanted Visitors **

"Kaaaaatsu! It's hot!" Ranma-chan whined as we stalked up the stairs of a shrine.

"I'm not using my fan to fan you," I said dryly as I pulled my hood over my head and slinked further into the shade of the tree.

"Why are you wearing long sleeves anyway!?" she hugged her body against the metal pole, hoping it would be somewhat cooling… if I really was a guy, I might've had some interesting thoughts that might earn a good beating from Akane, but since I'm a chick, not really… she jumped away from the pole yelping almost immediately from the heat.

"You do know metals heat up quite quickly in this heat," I commented tiredly. There's one thing I never liked about the summer, the extreme tiredness I always get from the heat. And I'm wearing sleeves because I would get sunburns in this sort of heat. "Come on, it's not that much further."

You must be curious to why Ranma and I are going to a shrine… well, something very odd has happened. It's actually only April and the weather is already burning hot hell. This never happened in the series, so I really have no clue to what this can possibly mean. Cologne and Happosai had no clue either… but Shiyu seems to have an inkling of what might be happening… but she's having an evil moment. Her hints were a bit vague.

"Why are we going to the shrine in this horrible heat?" she whined and dragged herself up the flight of steps. I glanced over to her a bit worriedly. These steps shouldn't bother her at all; the heat must be affecting her more than usual.

"If you talk less it wouldn't be as hot," I mumbled before hauling myself up the remaining steps. It was a humble shrine, nothing really out of the ordinary to actually be noticeable.

"Alright! We're here! Now what?" Ranma grounded out.

"If you're that exhausted, go sit in the shade before you get a stroke." I rummaged through my bag and tossed her a bottle of water. "I'll be quick… I hope," I mumbled the last part before walking over to the service booth. "Excuse me?"

"May I help you young man?" the Shinto priestess asked as she came to the table from the back. She doesn't look familiar either, so I guess she's not the problem either.

"I'm curious if there's anyone doing a fire reading here?" I asked.

"In this heat?" the stared at me in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but this shrine doesn't do that sort of reading. We do have a sand reading if you're interested."

"Sand?" I asked curiously.

"Grandma Chiyo does those readings. If you're interested, I can…" Whatever she said I hadn't heard her because I saw a tanuki dressed in a kimono run past Ranma… well, I guess that's what Shiyu was hinting at… Wait, how are vampires and tanukis even connectable? Damn literary law defying supernatural beings and mythological creatures.

"Um thank you, maybe next time!" I quickly bowed before running after the tanuki.

Ranma was already tired enough I don't need her passing out on me, but it can't be helped, she already passed out under a tree. The tanuki was running down the steps, I really had no time to wake Ranma if I don't want lose the creature… man, just my luck. I can just see myself getting eaten.

"What the hell, you only live once…" I muttered under my breath as I hurried after the tanuki, but at a later thought, I would be calling myself an idiot and wondering how the heck I get myself in these messes.

"I'm late! I'm late!" I nearly fell over with a sweat drop when I heard that, but kept a close watch on him as he disappeared behind a lamppost.

"This must be some cosmic joke… I'm fate's bitch aren't I?" I sighed before slipping through the small gap between the wall and the lamppost. The myths did say the entry to the spirit world is a bit odd. Once through the tight space, the street was no longer hot nor was it bright with the sunlight. The sky is filled with stars and a gentle breeze, but the tanuki was no where to be seen.

"Oi, young lady!" I glanced back to see an oden shop, noticing there weren't any other person around, I guess the owner was talking to me… but I'm technically a guy at the moment. I raised a hand and patted my chest just to make sure… Nope, still flat.

Since I lost track of the tanuki, might as well see if the owner have seen him. "Are you calling…" I trailed off when I noticed who was behind the curtains of the oden shop. "Me?"

"Of course I'm calling you! Who else is around?" the fox said cheekily. "You know, false bodies like that can't trick an old fox like me! What's a cute human girl like you doing here in the spirit realm anyway?" He waved to motion me to sit.

For some reason, my body doesn't seem to be listening so I sat… and answered. "I was following a tanuki."

"Ah, he was running an errand for Lord Futsu Nushi." He said as he tossed the prepared a bowl of oden.

"Lord Futsu Nushi?" I pondered curiously, it sounded somewhat familiar. "Would that be Amaterasu-sama's war general?" I vaguely remember Futsu Nushi being the fire and lightening god that changed over to become a war god for something. Amaterasu-sama is the goddess of the sun and the grandmother of someone important… my mythology sucks.

"Ah, so there are still humans that are familiar with the spiritual world," he nodded to himself before placing a bowl of oden in front of me.

The smell was intoxicatingly delicious; I want nothing more than to dig in, but if memory served me correctly… Nothing is exactly free in the spirit world. "Um… I don't think I can pay for this," I mumbled.

He chuckled. "It's already paid for."

I glance up curiously. "Already paid for? Who paid for it?"

"You're Katsuki Shinochi right?" he grinned.

My eyes widened. "How did you know that!?"

"A vampire said you would come here one day," he chuckled. "A very odd one that one is."

I blinked, must be Shiyu… she is pretty odd for a vampire… "Oh…"

"Said you might enjoy some of my uden, so eat up little lady." He said brightly and handed me a pair of chopsticks.

"Thank you…" I guess. There really wasn't anything else to do beside snap the chopsticks and dig in.

"So, why were you following tanuki-san?" he asked curiously.

"I was looking for something and tanuki-san just happened to run past… so I followed out of curiosity." I laughed sheepishly. "The oden is delicious!"

"Why thank you, but you know, curiosity is a dangerous thing. You shouldn't follow creatures you don't know. It's a good thing you lost tanuki-san on your way." He said as he poured me another cup of water.

"Why is that?" I asked curiously before I took a sip of the drink. I blinked and glanced down at the glass, it tasted… funny…

"Lord Futsu Nushi's son, Hinokou, ran off to the human realm a few days back in a childish fit. His lordship is quite furious. Tanuki-san has been searching for the young lord." That probably explains the heat wave problem back in Nerima… We have a son of a god wandering in Nerima… If my Japanese serves me right, which it should, Hinokou means child of fire… we're going to be burned to death.

"Thank you for the meal Kitsune-san," I said as I placed down my chopsticks. My face feels a bit warm. "I think I'll return to the human realm now." I stood up to leave, only to find myself swaying.

"Careful on your way back young lady," the fox said as he cleared the bowl and glass away. I nodded before walking out of the oden stand. Just as I was walking out I ran into someone I felt myself fall before a hand caught me… wait, hand?

"Mr. Estat! Miss Shinochi already had what you ordered for her… But she doesn't seem to be able to hold her liquor." My eye twitched. Liquor?

"I see... I shall escort her home." His hand shifted my arm over his shoulder before he picked me up… Damn it! Why can't I move!? Who the hell is this guy!? "Good day Takeshi." I found myself heating up quite a bit as he carried me off somewhere. What the hell did I drink? He laughed. "Shiyu's little new toy really can't drink at all. Pity, are you really a girl? You look so much better as a guy."

"…" I have no clue how to respond to that. I'm quite certain I was used to being accused of being the uke to Ranma, Ken and possibly Kuno at the same time… Excuse me as a shudder in horror… that was the most disgusting thought I had all day. However, apparently this Estat person managed to disturb me by being attracted to my guy side… Though who isn't attracted to my guy side! AHAHHA!

…

…

…

I think I'm being punished for my vanity… that's must be why I'm here.

"I'm almost jealous of Shishi." Shishi? Does this guy have a death wish? Wait… the fox said the person who paid for my meal was a vampire… then… FUCK! Another vampire!? How many fucking vampires am I going to run into!? "Ah, your pulse has quickened. How delightful! Pity I don't like the taste of a woman's blood."

"…" Stupid queer vampire… I bet if those fan girls see me now, they'll be screaming their silly little heads off… stupid girls… oh wait, I'm a girl.

"I am quite queer aren't I? Shishi always did find that annoying," he cracked up laughing. Is he… "Reading your mind? Quite clearly! Kind of hard not to, you think quite loudly. I'm assuming Shishi hasn't gotten a chance to teach you how to block your thoughts?"

"…" What?!

"Ah, I see she hasn't, wonderful!" he said as he hauled me about with ease. "Then you probably have many, many juicy blackmail items about her! Come on! Your purest memory of Shiyu being completely—" He shifted his weight quickly before bounding onto a fence. I heard the distinctive crack of a whip that haunted my nightmares.

"Had I known I would run into you, I would have brought vodka," Shiyu's dry voice clipped the air.

"Aw how sweet!" he chirped. "But you know we can't drink what mortals drink."

"It's so I can burn you to a crisp you bloody fruit tart! Put the brat down now!" I'm quite sure my face is stuck in between a laugh and a sweat drop.

Estat jumped away as she cracked her whip down at him. "Aw, you never share your toys!"

"I'm warning you Estat!" When did I become a toy? Hmm… I guess the same time I became Fate's bitch. I'm getting drowsy.

"Ah, looks like the little princess is…"

_Snore…_

o.o.o.o.o

"Oiiiiiiiiii, onee-chan!" I groaned as I felt someone shake me awake. "You shouldn't sleep here! Wake up!"

I raised a hand to my pounding head as I sat up. "Ow, where am I?" I blinked when I saw a pair of crimson eyes only inches from my own. "SHIT!" I shouted and stumbled back in surprise. The kid that woke me bounced back with a curious tilt of his head. I grunted in pain as my head pounded again.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, squatting in front of me with wide innocent eyes… A little too innocent for someone his age, he looked about ten or so. "These two vampires were fighting over you. It was so cool! The girl vampire was like snapping around the whip and the other one holding you was like jumping around! And then—"

"Do you know where they went?" I asked quickly before the kid decides to go off in a rant without breathing. I know. I've done many of those as a kid myself.

"Well, after a while the guy vampire said something to the girl vampire before tossing you here. She seemed pretty angry when she pulled out that scythe."

I have to sweat drop at that… a scythe… I wonder if Shiyu is a shinigami pretending to be a vampire… I tried getting up, but ended up falling on my ass again. My head hurts like a bitch. What the hell did I drink?

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

"I'll be fine in a little while…" I mumbled as I held my head before noticing it was wet… blood? Crap, it's not a hangover! I busted my head!

"The guy vampire did drop you on your head," the boy grinned.

"I see," I grumbled before pulling my bag off my shoulder and rummaged through the bag for bandages. Are you surprised? With my accident rate, I'm waiting to see how long before I'm in the hospital again.

"What are you doing?" Why is this brat still here? "Can't you just heal it?" I paused and glanced at him. "Well, can't you?" A breeze caught my attention before I glanced up at the sky, it was still dark. I'm still in the spirit world. "Geez! You're so rude! Father said…" he paused as he realized something before pouting angrily. "It's rude to ignore people!"

I raised an eyebrow. "It's also rude to yell at people," I responded as I started cleaning out the wound gently before binding my head tightly with the bandages. I better go check it out with Tofu sensei later, but for now, this'll do.

"So why didn't you just heal it? Wouldn't the pain go away faster?" he asked again.

"Not everyone can heal themselves." I said as I packed away the trash from the items I used. I don't want to get hunted down by spirits by littering in their world.

"So you can't right?" he trailed after me as I got up and started walking.

"I'm only mortal you know," I chuckled as his eyes widened.

"Wait! You're human!? How did you get here!? Father said—" he bit his tongue and shook his head. "Humans shouldn't be able to get here!"

"Well this one managed to get here," I replied snippily as I glanced around. "Drats, where is that Kitsune Oden stand?"

"Why? Are you hungry?"

"I came in from there; obviously, I need to go back there to get back to the human world." I reasoned.

"Why don't you just go that way? It's much closer," he pointed to the small gap below the fence. There was probably a foot of distance that a kid or a girl might be able to squeeze through… but in my guy form even though it's slightly bigger than my normal form, it'll be a very tight squeeze… I might even get stuck. "It won't be a problem if you turn back into a girl right?"

Hey, hey! What is with everyone in the spirit world knowing I'm a girl!? Is there a lie detector here somewhere!? "Are you sure that's a way back to the human world?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "I always use this one to go to the human world! It opens to this cool place! But they won't let me play with any of the stuff because I don't have money." He trailed off mumbling.

I sighed and squatted down to his eye level. "Why don't you just make up with your dad? And ask him to take you there?"

He glanced up at me with wide eyes. "How did you—"

"You only made faces whenever you happen to mention your dad." I commented dryly.

"I don't want to. He's a big meany! I hate him; he's a poop-face!" I flicked a finger at his forehead. "What did you do that for!?" he whined.

"You shouldn't call your dad names." Ha! The kettle is calling the pot black. My dad is a douche… I just wanted to say that for no reason.

"But he is!" he stomped his feet childishly.

"Well too bad, he's your dad and you're stuck with him regardless what you think. You have only one father and you can't choose who he is." Don't I know it? "How long have you been gone from home anyway?"

"He won't care!" he argued.

I dipped my head forward and sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, let's say he doesn't care. Where are you going to stay?" His angry pout faded as he looked down to the ground with his foot drawing invisible designs… Don't tell me… "How many days were you out here alone?"

"…Five…" he mumbled… five days… this brat was out here for five days… alone… Whoever his dad is should get shot.

I sighed. "Are you hungry?" His stomach growled. "Come on." I flattened myself against the ground and started to crawl through that crawl space he told me.

"Eh?" He looked at me curiously.

"You're hungry right?" I grumbled in irritation. "Come on, I don't have all day." I squeezed my way through, feeling the scorching heat from the other side. I felt a headache coming on when I heard excited screams. When I sat up and looked around I gave a dry laugh at the irony. It was a water park, talk about being a water magnet. "What are you hungry for brat?"

Five bentos and six ice cream cones later, I found myself surrounded by girls gushing over the brat and trying to get my number. I didn't even bother talking to them; it's too much effort in this heat. Instead, I watched as the brat conned them into getting him more ice cream. What do they teach kids in the past? I don't remember ever pretending to be cute to con someone of a meal… though, I do remember complimenting them. Either this kid really doesn't know what shame is, or he's just using his innocent look to his advantage. I must applaud him if that's the case.

Of course, I can only watch so long before I get bored. "Hey kid! I'm leaving!"

The girls turned to me in disbelief. "EH!? You're just going to ditch your little brother here!? How cruel of you!" they screeched.

"I never said he was my brother," I grinned.

"But you were with him and bought him food!" another argued.

"Ah, that was a thank you for giving me directions." I turned back to the brat. "Don't stay out too late and make up with your dad already!"

"Okay onee-chan!" he said brightly waving at me.

The girls froze in horror before turning to me again. "You're a girl!?" But by then I've already ran off. Hehe, this is kind of fun. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

I can't help it but giggle a little as I ran away from the angry mob of girls. I must've landed on my head harder than I thought… I shrugged, oh well! "Onee-chan, you run pretty fast!" I blinked and glanced down, the brat was keeping up with me quite easily.

"Why are you following me?" I asked exasperatedly.

He smiled brightly. "Because you're fun! I'm going to stay with you!"

"Say what?" I nearly ran into a pole when he said that.

"THERE!" screamed the mob of girls.

I sighed before grabbing the brat and jumping onto my fan and flew a good distance away from the horrid mob of girls. "WAI!!! You can fly?" He said excitedly as he glanced around excitedly. I quickly found a spot to drop him off.

"I don't have time to baby sit you! Go home already!" I snapped before turning to leave. Unfortunately, this brat is persistent and latched onto my neck. "I said I don't have time!" I growled trying to pry him off of me.

"No! I want to stay with you!" He whined.

"No means no! Now GET-OFF!" I snapped yanking him off of me before taking flight again. I didn't get more than a few meters when I heard his voice again.

"Onee-chan isn't going to get away from me that easily!" he chirped brightly with a ball of fire propelling him upwards.

"Then try to keep up brat!" I said before zooming off in a hurry.

I purposely went through what little clouds that was around in an attempt to put out that fire he's using for flight, but it doesn't seem to stop him at all. The chase went on for a while, my chi stores would probably allow me up to two hours of flight without doing any other stunts, but once those two hours are up, I'll need to rest if I don't want to suffer from chi exhaustion. It's already been thirty minutes and I can feel my chi slowly diminishing.

However, it wasn't until I noticed the slight change in temperature that I remembered that the air in the higher atmosphere is much thinner. A grin spread across my face as I too a deep breath before flying upwards. Glancing back I saw the bewilderment on his face as he forced his flame to flare up in an attempt to propel himself higher, but the more he tried to make the flame bigger, the faster it burned out. I had to pop my ears many times to adjust to the altitude and breathing was starting to become a problem as well.

With Shiyu as a teacher, I've learn to breathe as little as possible to avoid detection, (when I was trying to hide from her), but at this height, whatever little air I can get would be important. I should really head back down though; I could feel my skin starting to burn. The kid wasn't fairing that much better. His breath was short and his head was drenched with sweat with the amount of times he tried to flare up that flame of his.

"Give up already," I murmured to myself, wishing he would just return to the ground already.

"Onee-chan!" He struggled to shout out before his eyes closed and he started to fall.

"Hey, that's not going to fool me you know!" I shouted to him, but he wasn't responding. I frowned, sitting on my fan watching and waiting to see when he was going to cut the act and start up his fireball again… but it never came. "Oh come on!" I almost whined as I jumped off the fan with my arms and legs pressed tightly against my body in an attempt to fall faster to the ground to catch up with the brat.

I winced in pain as the air pressure changed on my flight down. My ears popped again and the wind was starting to hurt my eyes. Just a little more… a little… and… GOTCHA! I grabbed hold of his arm before pulling him into a tight one-arm hug. I materialized my fan and quickly grabbed hold of it before the draft blew it to who knows where. The upward draft was worst than I thought, I nearly disjointed my arm when the fan flipped over and twisted to a different direction.

"Fuck!" I hissed in pain as I pulled the fan under us.

It shifted a little uncontrollably from my injured arm, but eventually I managed to get it back in control. I glanced around quickly and cursed again, I don't see any ground. I have about fifteen minutes of flight time left and I have no clue which direction to fly towards. I glanced down at the kid and cursed again. He's exhausted, why hadn't I noticed before? Even if he's from the spirit world, he's still a child. The sun is starting to set as well. What the hell am I supposed to do now!? I looking around frantically hoping for some sort of sign that I might be close to land. Then it appeared an explosion of flame in the sky from the east.

Shifting the fan, I moved as quickly as I can back to land as possible. My fifteen minutes was nearly up. I could feel my grip weakening on the brat, but I still hung on as much as I can. Even if this brat is annoying, I just can't let him drown. I could see the faint outline of the coastal line.

One minute left!

"COME ON!" I begged as I angled the fan.

Thirty seconds!

I felt something leaking down to my face… blood?

Fifteen seconds!

My vision is starting to fade…

Ten seconds!

My fan was starting to shake…

Five seconds…

I'm not going to make it.

Three… two… one…

I faintly recall myself falling off the fan before everything turned black. I was fully expecting to never wake up, but oddly, I woke up. My eyes opened to a starry sky, the ground was soft and sandy. The sounds of waves? I glanced around and noticed I was on the beach somewhere. I sat up quickly when I noticed the brat was missing.

"Shit!" Did I get washed up to the beach? Where's the brat!?

"Ah, so you're finally awake, that was some feat you did out there." I kind voice spoke. I turned to the owner's voice and found the boy slumbering peacefully in his arms.

I let out a sigh of relief before collapsing back onto the sand; for once I didn't mind it. "Thank goodness he's okay."

The man chuckled. "He's a handful, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but at least he's safe." My body felt like jello.

He chuckled again. "Thank you for watching him."

My eyes drooped tiredly. "So you're his dad… Good, so now he can go home and…"

_Snore…_

You can't blame me; I'm tired as hell already. There's nothing I could have done to stay awake. "Thank you," what a nice voice…

o.o.o.o.o

The next time I awoke, I was sleeping in Tofu sensei's clinic bed with Nabiki sitting at the seat next to it. "Welcome back to the living Katsuya. I must say, this must be the stupidest thing you've ever done up to date."

"What?" I asked groggily and I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face into the pillow. "OWWWWWWWWWWWW!" I screeched jumping away from the pillow and holding onto my face. "OW, OW, OW, OW, OW!"

"Sunbathing with Ranma in this heat, it's no wonder the two of you got sunburn and a heat stroke!" Nabiki commented dryly.

"Ow," I bit back the tears as I gingerly touched my face.

"Well, seeing you're fine, I'm heading back home." She said with a grin.

"Ah, Nabiki-chan, you're heading home?" Tofu's sensei's voice came from outside. The two exchanged pleasantries while I tried to remember how I got here.

"Yay! Onee-chan is awake!" I twitched nervously as I lowered my hand and glanced down.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed and scrambled back against the bed. "W-Why?" my voice cracked at seeing the crimson eyed brat.

"Katsuya-kun!?" Tofu sensei ran into the room in a hurry at my shout.

I raised a shaking finger at the brat. "W-what is he doing here?!"

Tofu placed a hand on the brat's head fondly. "He was the one that called for help."

"Onee-chan turned red as a lobster!" the brat laughed.

"That's ONNI-chan to you!" I snapped at him before Tofu decides to ask.

Tofu chuckled. "Well, he managed to find one of Nabiki's friends before they contacted Nabiki to come get you and Ranma. You should really take better care of yourself."

I glared at the brat who grinned innocently. "Onee-" I hauled him up by the collar.

"It's ONNI! Say it right before I become an oni and eat you." I hissed. "Why are you still here? I thought your dad picked you up!"

"Ah, so you know this boy, I'll leave you two to talk. I'm going to get some salve for your face," Tofu sensei said before he walked out of the room.

The kid bounced onto the bed excitedly before I caught him again to toss him back onto the ground. "What are you doing here?!" I hissed.

He pulled out a letter with a bright grin. "Father told me to give you this when you woke up. He told me about how you saved me and everything! Onee-chan you're so cool!"

I frowned as I took the letter and flipped it open. As I've said before with my previous letters, I'll just give you the gist of it. The beginning was mostly just pleasantries and whatnots about taking care of the brat. It wasn't until I reached the middle that my eyes widened in horror and I glanced up to the smiling brat.

"What's your name?" I asked cautiously.

"Hinoko!" he chirped. "What's your name onee-chan?"

I gave a dry laugh as I hung my head. I've been just given guardianship to one Lord Hinoko and am responsible for his well being until he is ready to accept his duties as lord. The fates loves to fuck with my life don't they?

"Neh! What's your name?" he asked again.

"Katsuya Shinochi and call me onni-chan not onee-chan!"

"But you're—" I quickly covered his mouth when Tofu sensei walked in again.

"Ah, I see you two get along quite well." Tofu smiled brightly.

"I hope so, since I'm going to be stuck babysitting him for a while." I muttered in irritation as the brat bounced excitedly in my lap. Apparently, he doesn't know I'm stuck babysitting him.

"What about his parents?" Tofu asked curiously.

"That's what I want to know," I sighed. "But it shouldn't be too hard right?" I'll learn to regret the words that come out of my mouth… I wonder what happened to Shiyu and Estat?

Unknown to me, Shiyu was elsewhere tracking down Estat and plotting to decapitate the flamboyant vampire and burn his body into cinders… I almost feel bad for that queer vampire to have this defective one go after him.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: YAY! New character to play with! At first I wasn't really sure if I wanted to keep Hinoko, but after a while, he just kind of grew on me… so… yeah, he's staying.

Koganei: The next few chapters might be on or off the manga/anime listing.

Mokuba: So FRI and until the next chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

**Chapter Fifteen: Tricksters times Three**

"Onee-chan!" I groaned as I neared the gate of Furinkan. Hinokou was surrounded by the horrid of fan girls gushing over him.

For the past few days the routine was to wake up at the ungodly hour of six, get into a fight with the brat about getting washed up, dressed, eat breakfast and kick his ass to school. Then after the day is over, he'll scramble over to Furinkan before we head back to the apartment and start the night routine of the same thing. Finding a school for him wasn't too much of a problem, Akane was actually a great help in that area. Hinokou seems to like her very much as well… I guess Akane is pretty good with kids… as long as she's not the one cooking for them… though; I am quite tempted to have her poison the little brat.

"That's onni-chan," I sighed exasperatedly as the girls squealed parted with a fond farewell. "Ready to go?" he nodded excitedly.

"KATSUYA SHINOCHI!" I shoved Hinokou out of the way before pulling out my fan to swat away whatever gunk bomb was tossed at me.

"GOSUNKUGI!" I snapped irritably. "I told you stop attacking me when the kid is around!" I slapped my fan open before swinging a powerful squall into his face, blowing away whatever trinkets he was planning to use that day.

"Onee-chan is so cool!" Hinokou cheered before I thwacked him over the head with the fan.

"Quit calling me onee-chan!"

He pouted. "But—"

"SHINOCHI-KUN!" I blinked before I was slung over Genma's shoulder… Wait, did I just miss something? "Quickly! Where is Ranma?"

"Saotome-san! What are you doing?!" I shouted as he hauled me into the school. "Put me down!" I started thwacking him with my fan, but that doesn't seem to affect him at all.

"RANMA!!" Genma shouted as he charged.

"Uncle Saotome? Katsuya-kun?" Akane gasped.

"Old man?! Katsu!? What the heck are you doing with Katsu?!" Ranma's outraged voice cried out.

"No time! Turn into Ranko! Your mother is coming!" Genma's voice squeaked as he dropped me on the ground and started to do a variation of the _Fierce tiger falling down forces._ "Please oh please help us! We'll be forever in your debt."

I frowned as I knelt down to his height. "Didn't you say that last time? I haven't even gotten payment from that time yet." I commented dryly before he started playing with his fingers and laughing sheepishly.

"Well, that um…" he laughed.

I sighed. I'm so glad I never got a chance to meet this man in my lifetime… but I guess I would have to do something about grandma… "How much time do we have before she gets here?"

"THANK YOU SHINOCHI-KUN!" I swore I heard my spine crack with the crushing hug he's giving me.

"C-can't-breath!" I gasped as he crushed my lungs.

"Uncle Saotome, how long before Aunty Saotome gets here?" Akane asked.

"Any minute now! HURRY RANMA!" Genma released me and went off hauling his son to get changed.

"This is so troublesome…" I muttered in irritation.

"Say… Katsuya-kun, shouldn't Hinokou be waiting for you outside right about now?" Akane asked.

"SHIT!" I turned my heel and ran back the way Genma dragged me off, only to be tackled by a small bundle of the chibi god I'm in charge of.

"Onee-chan! Where's the fat man!?" Hinokou shouted angrily. "I'm going to kill him! And burn his fat hide!"

I sighed before picking him up and shoving him into Akane's arms. "Please watch him for me until Nodoka-san leaves and if he suddenly pops up with Nodoka-san around, it'll be troublesome."

"No problem," Akane kept a firm hold on Hinokou as he struggled to reach for me.

"Now Hinokou, I'm pretending to be Ranma ni-chan today. So don't call me onee-chan or Katsu nee, understand?"

"HAI! Ranma ni-chan!" I glared at him lightly.

"You have no problem calling me Ranma ni-chan, but you always call me Katsu nee?" He grinned innocently. "Be good and listen to Akane-san." I said before grabbing some bills from my wallet. "Here, treat yourselves to something."

"That's okay! I can cook for Hinokou!" Akane chirped.

I bit back a grimace. "Please, don't trouble yourself. Money is not an issue with Hinokou." I don't want my ass burned by Lord Futsu Nushi for poisoning his son.

"Katsu!" Ranma-chan came back moments later with Panda Genma behind her. I mentally sighed as I prepared myself, I have a feeling today is going to be a bad day.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ranko-chan! You look adorable today!" Nodoka gushed as the three of us entered the Tendo residence. "Ranma, are you doing well?"

I smiled warmly. "Very well, and you mother?"

"Oh you wouldn't be interested!" She waved it off and moved onto Hinokou. "Oh, who's this young man?"

"I'm Hinokou! Oba-san you're very pretty!" Suck up.

"Oh aren't you precious?" She cooed.

"We're watching Hinokou for a friend of Uncle Saotome. He'll be staying for a while," Akane answered.

"So… What are you doing here mother?" I asked Nodoka casually.

"Can't a mother visit her son?" She smiled brightly. "Besides, I'm curious about how you're getting along with your fiancé!" The three of us laughed sheepishly as we're uncertain to how to respond to that. "When am I getting grandkids?"

"Isn't it a bit early mom? We… erm…" I sweat dropped, not really sure how to say it.

"I'm fully expecting you to be married once you're done with schooling." Nodoka chirped.

"WHAT!? I'm not—" Ranma-chan shouted before I quickly covered her mouth saving her from blurting out her disbelief.

"Ah...ha, ha. Ranko-chan, didn't you say you wanted to go shopping with my mother? You did say you can use some more clothes." I said lamely, in a poor attempt to hide it.

Nodoka looked between us before giving a knowing grin… I don't like that grin. "Ranma, are you sure you don't want to change your engagement to Ranko-chan?"

We jumped away from each other almost immediately. "Who wants an inconsiderate manly wife like her?"

"Hey, what do you mean inconsiderate?" snapped Ranma-chan. Oh crap, I'm going to get my ass kicked.

"That's not very nice to say to a lady Ranma," Nodoka scolded me… hehe, it's kind of cool calling grandma by her first name.

"Of course mother," I said sweetly. "Why don't I escort you and Ranko to the mall as an apology?"

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Nodoka clapped her hands with a puzzled look over her face. "On my way here, I ran into a peculiar boy. He claimed that he was you Ranma." I felt a chill run down my spine as she spoke to me. "And most peculiar, he was holding a scroll with your father's hand writing on it."

"You didn't tell him anything did you mother?" I asked almost cautiously. If it's who I think it is. We're very screwed… or to be more exact, **I'm** very screwed.

Nodoka placed a finger to her cheek as she pondered. "I didn't get to say much as he left with the bear he beaten down."

"Bear?" Akane questioned curiously.

"I was being attacked by one before he came along. I didn't tell you that?" she smiled brightly.

"You were attacked by a bear?!" Ranma-chan screeched almost panicky.

"Yes, I was very fortunate that the young man came to rescue," she chuckled merrily… I'm very curious is grandma had something wrong with her head the whole time. Who could chuckle like this over a bear attack… especially a bear attack on her person?

"Mother, you should really be more careful," I responded as a dutiful son should… quite odd, given dad completely expected me to be a son from what I've been told.

Nodoka chuckled before slapping my arm playfully. "Don't you worry about your mother now; I can take care of myself. Shall we go to the mall now?"

o.o.o.o.o

She said not to worry… but that made me worry even more as we walked with them to the mall. I can't help but feel that someone was following us.

"Ka-Ranma, is something wrong?" Akane asked me.

"It's nothing Akane," I said before ushering them to continue, but the feeling was still there after a long while. "Um… Why don't you three ladies go ahead? I have something I want to get."

"Oh? What are you getting Ranma?" Nodoka asked.

"Erm… Something I can't get with a girl?" I attempted lamely.

"Oh how manly!"

"…" I wonder what crack she's smoking and where the heck can I get some. At this rate, I don't think my mental health would be able to take much more of this world.

Ranma-chan grabbed onto my arm as I was about to leave. "Where the heck are you going?" she hissed.

"We're being followed, just have fun with your mother," I whispered back before grinning to Nodoka. "I'll be back soon! Have fun ladies!" I quickly jogged out of range before slipping out of the mall. I'm quite sure I'm still being followed.

"RANMA SAOTOME!" Ah… Yep, I'm being followed AND mistaken for Ranma. I turned around to face someone I've never met before.

"I'm here to extract my revenge!" he declared furiously. "Prepare to die!"

I quickly moved the moment he darted at me. His speed could rival Ranma's, but it's not match for Shiyu. Move by move I watched as he tried to grab me or thrust his hands into my chest. Had he succeeded, I would think my health would not be as great as it is now. Since I'm supposed to be Ranma at the moment, I cannot use my fans… but I can still use my flight as an advantage.

"And what exactly am I dying for? You know it's quite rude to kill someone without telling them what they're dying for." I know, I know, I'm digging my own grave… but it doesn't hurt to start fixing some of the messes Genma did to Ranma. After all, I never remember anyone from Ranma's old life go into dad's life.

"This is for all the lies your father spouted and all the suffering you and your father put us through!" he snapped and charged at me again.

I jumped away with the help of flight to gain distance. "What did we do?" I have an inkling to who this person might be, but my lack of recognition to his face wasn't helping me.

The young man laughed bitterly as he turned around to face me once again. "You don't even remember. How many people have you lied to? How many people's lives have your ruined?!" He charged at me once more with his stance carried out swiftly and dangerously.

I dodged again and again, making sure I make my moves seem acrobatic and as Ranma-like as I could possibly get. "I never intend to harm people."

"But you admit you harm them still!" he growled and attacked again, smashing a nearby hydrant and spraying water into the air. Whatever crowd that might have been there earlier, had dispersed. "Enough, I heard enough of your excuses! Just DIE!"

There's not a chance of me matching his power and skills. Logically, my brain is telling me that I shouldn't even be standing here and facing this guy. Ranma was supposed to face this guy, not me. He continued to charge at me as I dodged and distanced myself from him. I wonder, how many people have Genma crossed in the ten years of training he had with Ranma? 365 days a year, times 10, plus another two days for leap years. That's 3652 days… hmm… judging by Genma's greed and pigheadedness… crossing a person a day isn't impossible… but screwing them over to the extent of some of these people… it's probably over a hundred and no less.

"I'm getting tired of this," I murmured.

"RANMA NI-CHAN!" I snapped up in horror when I spotted Hinokou charging towards us.

The other growled. "Another Saotome spawn," he readied himself in a stance before charging forward. "I'll do the world a favor and rid him as well!" Damn it! Stupid brat! I sent a burst of chi into my legs as I forced myself to close in the distance between me and the attacker, but I was too far from the two. "DIE!"

"Hinokou!" I shouted in cold terror as the attacker neared Hinokou, I'll never make it in time.

However, to my greatest relief and shock, he had merely jumped on top of the attacker's head and bounded over to me as if nothing had happened. "Ranma ni-chan! I want ice cream! ICCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEE CREEEEEEEEEAM!" He plowed into me gleefully while hanging around my neck.

I gave a sigh of relief as I held onto him, but relief isn't a kind guest that likes to stay. "I'm going to kill both of you for that!"

"Like hell I'm sticking around," I muttered before holding Hinokou tightly… but an idea came to my head as a grin slipped past my lips. "Saotome Secret Technique!" Just to be funny, I slipped in a ninja hand seal gesture before shouting the name. "Fast break!"

The attacker raised his hands to brace himself for an attack, while I swiftly turned my heel and ran a good distance away before taking to the skies. Staying afloat on one of the many roofs, I watched as the attacker ran off blindly in search for me and Hinokou.

"Ranma ni?" I glanced down at the bundle of demi-god in my arms. He smiled brightly. "Ice cream?"

"Someone please kill me," I muttered before hopping off.

o.o.o.o.o

"A pleasure to see you again mother, I'll tell father that you came by." I said at day's end when Nodoka was about to return home.

"Bye, bye Nodoka oba-san!" Hinokou chirped as he shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"Take care now!" She patted his head fondly before leaving.

Once we were certain she was long gone everyone collapsed to the ground tiredly with a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness!" Genma pulled out a sign.

"RANMA SAOTOME!" I moved the moment I heard the voice. It was the attacker from earlier today. He smashed the wall I was standing in front of just moments ago. "Running like the coward you are!"

"Who are you calling a coward!?" Ranma-chan snapped furiously.

"I'm not talking to you girl! I'm talking to him!" he charged furiously at me.

I grinned sheepishly as dodged and I raised my hands defensively. "Sorry, I'm just a fellow Ranma impersonator." The attack paused but didn't halt his accusing glare.

"Impersonator?" Akane questioned before glancing at the attacker. "You're the one that told oba-san that you're Ranma?"

"Who the heck are you!?" Ranma-chan growled.

"The name is Ryu Kumon." He snarled. Ah, definitely a fellow Ranma impersonator… why the heck is my competition so much stronger!? That's just not fair! I know I'm whining like a girl, shut up. "And who the hell are you supposed to be if you're not Ranma Saotome?"

I gave a dramatic bow, just because I felt like being silly. "Katsuya Shinochi at your service," I grinned sheepishly. "I'm just doing Ranma a favor; he's not here at the moment."

"Where is that coward then!?" Kumon growled; I refuse to call him Ryu.

"Who are you—" I covered Ranma-chan's mouth before answering briskly.

"Ranma is out of town at the moment with his father. It's indefinite when they will return." I said before pulling her closer, my arm purposely held against her chest to remind her that she's still in her girl form and it would be troublesome if Kumon found out and used it against him. I vaguely remembered it didn't matter, but I had a feeling that me pretending to be Ranma would have affected this… I'm not one for gut instincts, since it usually gets me into more trouble, but this one really gnawed at me.

Kumon raised his arms in position to attack again. "Then you're Ranma," he hissed. "Your dirty tricks won't work on me Saotome!"

"Shit," I cursed before shoving Ranma-chan away from me and rolled out of the way. The wall suffered a great deal of damage as I scrambled to get out of Kumon's range.

"He's not Ranma! Why don't you pick on someone your own skill level!?" Ranma-chan snapped as she jumped in between Kumon and myself.

"Get out of the way girl! This doesn't concern you!" he tried to pass Ranma-chan without harming her, but had difficulty as she maneuvered herself swiftly.

"If you can't beat me, then you have no right to even challenge Ranma Saotome!" I blinked in surprise. Is that… a sign of a brain I see from here? Oh my, Ranma is starting to grow a brain… not an extremely intelligent one, but nonetheless he's growing one.

Kumon bellowed with a miserable laugh. "So disgusting Saotome, how you're hiding behind girls." He frowned, "But if you insist on seeing this girl get hurt, I don't see why I shouldn't humor you."

He moved so suddenly, I hadn't had time to process what he was doing until Ranma-chan screamed. I took a step back in surprise and gasped. He broke Ranma's arm… effortlessly… how… that's not possible! Ranma is invincible! This is wrong!

"Ran-ko!" Akane screamed and rushed to Ranma-chan's side, barely able to scream out Ranma's false name.

"Am I worthy to fight you now, Saotome!?" he hissed. My heart pulsed painfully as I struggled to breathe… Am I… scared? "Prepare to die, Saotome."

"Run, idiot…" I faintly heard a familiar voice before a warm splatter hit my face. It wasn't warm enough to trigger my transformation, but…

"You… dirty, bastard!" Kumon grabbed onto his bleeding arm.

"Run!" the voice hissed again before another splatter hit me. I took a hesitant step back, but a quick jab to my stomach made me move. I snapped my fan out of thin air before taking off quickly.

"SAOTOME!" Kumon roared and attempted to chase after me, but he fell over as another wound appeared on his body. Turning away from him, I flew as quickly as I can away from the Tendo residence.

o.o.o.o.o

A twenty minute flight later, I found myself sitting at a Cliffside trying to calm down. I'm such a chicken shit. "Well, idiot, you did a wonderful job of staying inconspicuous," Shiyu's comforting cold drawl came from behind as she dropped a thermos in my lap. I held it up curiously. "It's tea."

"Ah, thank you." I murmured before pouring myself a cup to calm down. "I guess I shouldn't have braided my hair… huh?" I asked guiltily.

Shiyu snorted. "Dressing like your father is like signing a death contract. The similarities of your male form to him are dreadfully close to making you into his twin. But of course, once you smile and laugh, you resemble another person entirely."

I perked up at her mild hints. She's been doing that a lot lately, as if trying to tell me who my mother is. Don't get me wrong. I love my mother Kasumi to bits, but… I am a bit curious to whom my birth mother is… After all, what could have cause Ranma to go unfaithful to Kasumi? For fucks sake, it's Kasumi!

"Smile and laugh, huh?" I murmured.

Who can I possibly resemble? Not Nabiki, while I do have a sadistic side, it could never match her. Can't be Akane either, I can hold my temper if I need to… but Shiyu said when I smile and laugh… doesn't resemble her. Shampoo and Ukyo has a cute chirpy almost birdie sort of giggle laugh… unless I force it, it's not likely I laugh like that… so let's go to smile… I raised a hand to my lips as I tested a grin. My fingers brushed up against the slight protrusion of my teeth… It can't possibly… oh… my… ra… I think I'm going to be sick.

Shiyu chortled as she slapped my back. "So you do have some brains after all."

"We speak not of this again. I'll pretend this never happened." I hugged my stomach trying to keep my lunch down. "That is just wrong is so many levels. I don't want to know why my existence was brought into this world." Out of sheer stupidity I got up and cupped the side of my mouth and shouted in a very anime-like style. "I'M SORRY WORLD! FOR INFECTING YOU WITH MY EXISTENCE! I'M SO SORRY!"

A quick smack over the head got me to simmer down and glance back at a mildly amused vampire. "Enough of your melodramatics, shouldn't you be checking on your _father_ to see if his injuries needs further tending to?"

"I don't want to even hear that word right now… but yes; I do need to check on him…" I muttered before snapping out the fan again. Shiyu chuckled behind me before shifting out of sight.

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsu-nee!" Hinokou pounced on me the instant I landed. "Where did you go? Ranma-ni got his arm completely trashed. Hehe, so he's stuck as a girl until it heals."

I raised a brow. "And you couldn't heal him?"

He shrugged carelessly. "They wouldn't let me go near him."

"Well, try to sneak in later to heal it for him anyway." I glanced around the suspiciously quiet house. "Where is everyone else?"

"The fat man and the crying man ran off somewhere shouting something about the end of schools... I thought school was still on for a few more months." Hinokou said before pondering a moment. "The scary girl made a lot of phone calls before leaving the house. Akane-nee is with Ranma-ni and Kasumi-nee is in the kitchen."

"Ah, I see. Why don't we give Ranma a visit?" And we did, Akane had refused to leave Ranma's side, so Hinokou wouldn't be able to heal him in a long while. Instead, we opted to help Kasumi in the kitchen instead, but we didn't even manage to get anything done, with a ring at the door.

"Ah, a guest, Katsu-chan, would you mind getting that for me?" Kasumi asked.

"Hinokou, you stay with Kasumi-san," I said before hurrying off to the front door.

"Express mail for Ranma Saotome," the mailman said as he handed me an envelope. "Sign please." I signed the pad but reluctantly grabbed the envelope. Who knows what's in there… But seeing Ranma is in no shape to be opening possibly dangerous mails… I sighed.

Please don't be poison, please don't be knockout gas, and please oh please don't be something that can kill me! I chanted continuously in my head as I ripped open the letter at arms' length away.

…

…

…

Seeing nothing had attempted at my life, I gave a short sigh of relief before flipping the letter open… Only to crumble to the ground in despair… "I promise not to dress up as Ranma anymore!" I sobbed. It turns out; Kumon had sent a challenge letter, to _Ranma_, not the one that is sporting a broken arm at the moment. But the one that he has spoken to and attacked during the whole duration he was here. I found myself pounding the ground crying, very much like my grandfather. What can I do to face Kumon? I'm no match against him. Power and abilities, he outclasses me by miles, I can probably best him at speed, but that's all.

"Katsu-chan, you can't expect Ranma to fight in his state right now are you?" Kasumi said worriedly when she had finished reading the letter.

I was hesitant to give it to her, but I didn't want to give it to Ranma either. Even if Hinokou had a chance to heal him, it would take a few days before the healing completely sets in. The challenge is set this coming weekend near the shrine where I found the tanuki.

"That's why I gave it to you instead of just handing it over to Ranma." I muttered under my breath while grabbing a napkin to wipe Hinokou's messy face; he is pigging out with the spaghetti we made. "Don't move brat!"

Hinokou flailed his arms childishly and went back to shoving the pasta into his face with a big sloppy grin. Kasumi chuckled at his antics before attempting to clean his face much gentler than I was. He paused happily and allowed her to clean without a fuss. "But it's not Ranma that he wants to fight is it? He wants to fight you."

I glared at the brat before sinking down on my chair and slouched. "All because I dressed up for Nodoka-san," I muttered.

"Katsu-chan, don't slouch." Kasumi reprehended gently. I sat up straight without even thinking at her words… Mom, you're amazing… "You're not planning to go are you?"

I shrugged and pocketed my hands. "I was actually planning to just leave him there." I grinned brightly.

Kasumi blinked in surprise, but smiled ever so brightly. "That's a relief."

"Katsu-nee is lying," Hinokou chirped. I twitched. "She's going to face that mean onni-chan because if she doesn't he'll come back and hurt everyone again. Isn't Katsu-nee nice?" I grabbed the brat and covered his mouth.

"Shut up brat," I hissed.

"Katsu-chan… you're not planning to go are you?" Kasumi asked again.

I glanced down guiltily. "He won't stop coming back until he gets his fight and with Ranma injured like this, he can't defend the Tendo house… What's worst is that he thinks I'm Ranma. So if I'm not here, he'll even destroy the house even more. I really don't want to go; I'm not lying about that… I just don't want to see Kasumi-san get hurt."

"Katsu-chan…"

I smiled sheepishly. "Kasumi-san reminds me of my kaa-san a lot… so… um…" I felt two pair of hands rest on top of mine.

"Thank you Katsu-chan," Kasumi whispered with a teary smile. "It's been so long since someone cared…" After that… I couldn't say anything but smile and sit quietly as she went about her daily house chores… I think when I get back; I have to take mother out to a spa or something. She really works too hard.

o.o.o.o.o

"Well, moron, what are you planning to do about that fight in three days' time?" Shiyu asked me when Hinokou was fast asleep that night. "And pray tell why a god's child is in your care?"

"I don't know, as for your second question, I still don't have a clue to why he's in my care." I answered truthfully. "I'll deal with it when the time comes for it."

Shiyu snorted. "I'm not the one that would be leaving a family behind if I die. You are, so you better think of something good."

"I'll think of something, don't worry about it." I sighed, trying to hold my temper. I'm not in the mood to argue. "How was your chase after that Estat guy?"

Her brow twitched, he must have gotten away. "Watch your surrounds and don't accept food so willingly from strangers you know nothing about." Ah, so she's not all that pissed. "I will resume your training, if you manage to survive that foolish challenge you accepted. Be aware, it would be ten times more excruciating than before." With that she disappeared from my night life for the next three days.

Hinokou had snuck in the night afterwards to heal Ranma's broken arm. He said it was already healing much faster than normal when he got there, but him adding the final touches of a demi-god, Ranma's arm was good and well in two days. However, during that time, I hadn't told him or anyone else about the fight with Kumon that weekend. While Ranma was recovering nicely, he's not ready to face Kumon; Genma hadn't given him the counter to Kumon's style.

That style… requires on speed and stealth at most. And in the series, that was his weakness. I'm quite certain I can best him in speed, but as for stealth, I think it's hopeless. Shiyu has little to no trouble to finding me each time I attempted to hide.

"Oi! KATSU!" I snapped out of my thoughts when Ranma shouted into my ear.

"What is it Ranma?" I said rubbing my ear. He swiped a shrimp tempura from my bento. "HEY! I was going to eat that damn it!"

He laughed. "You snooze, you lose!" Grr… he's starting to show signs of dad… Calm down; think of Ran-nee and Genyu-ni… They won't exist if I poison his ass right now… BUT HE STOLE MY SHRIMP! MY SHRIMP VENGENCE!! I SHALL HAVE MY VENGENCE!!

"Damn it Ranma! Give me back my shrimp!" I closed my bento before whipping out my fan.

He pulled down the corner of his eye before sticking out his tongue childishly. "Bi-dah!"

"DIE RANMA!" I roared slamming down my fan as he laughed again and shoved the shrimp into his mouth.

"Too slow Katsu!" He cackled. I ended up sulking for ten minutes over my eaten shrimp before I realized Ranma was trying to cheer me up. Oh well, I guess there are some good points to him…

o.o.o.o.o

The day came too soon. I didn't want to bring Hinokou with me, but he demanded to go. I had no choice but to bring him. However, I did ask Shiyu to take him to safety if anything happens. She's hiding in the shadows as I'm waiting for my imminent doom. I opted to borrow Ranma's clothing for this fight and wearing a bun; of course, I have spare clothing to change… if I survive, but the reason I chose to wear Ranma's clothing, is the amount of maneuverability they have over my usual clothing and the bun is to keep my hair from being used against me.

"Hmph, so you're here. I was thinking you would be the coward you are and chicken out." Kumon snorted as he walked into view. He smirked when he saw Hinokou. "And you brought the other spawn with you. Good, good. I'll get rid of him too when I'm done with you. Too bad, your good for nothing father isn't with you. I would be able to take care of him too. What? No last words?"

I glanced at him a bit longer before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. "For the last time, I'm Katsuya Shinochi. Win or lose, I want you to leave the Tendos and Hinokou alone. Go hunt Genma Saotome for all I care." I said as I pulled out my fans in preparation of the fight.

"I have nothing against the Tendos, that request is not a problem. However, that child is a Saotome spawn. He must die." He said before charging at me.

I jumped out of his way. "I told you! He's not a Saotome!"

"Lies! Never trust a word from a Saotome!" Kumon roared and chased after me.

It's not exactly eventful for me to list out and describe completely what Kumon and I were doing in… this one-sided fight… Though, I must say the opening move of yama-sen-ken is quite retarded in ways only Genma and other idiots can fall for… Screaming freeze or look behind you are very elementary and childish sort of pranks… but I must say all his other attacks are quite dangerous. I didn't dare fight him at mid range and even less at close. In close range, one good hit at my heart and I would be dead and at mid range, his golden noose trip would be able to draw me in for such close range attacks. However, it doesn't mean his long ranged attacks aren't any less dangerous.

At the moment, I found myself dodging projectiles of the earth he broke from the ground and pelted towards my direction. Let me tell you, those things are hard to dodge in mid-air. Fortunately, I had flight on my side and was able to maneuver a bit more freely compared to if I were to only jump. I was about to fly over his head with a golden noose latched onto my leg and pulled me to the ground. I attempted to pull my fans in front of me to put up at least some barrier against him, but his hand was faster than mine. With his extended fingers he thrust them into my solar plexus.

The pain blinded me. I couldn't see anything; I felt the breath being knocked out of me as my body hit the ground. I faintly heard Hinokou shout my name, but nothing much after that. Everything became silent as my vision slowly filtered back. By then, a hand was grasping tightly at my collar and hauling me off the ground. I was in so much pain I could barely move.

"Well, how does it feel Saotome? To be beaten by the very skill your father gave away? It destroyed me and my father." He hissed. "And now, I'm going to destroy you and every person who is related to you."

I couldn't talk. I was barely holding onto consciousness as it is. Who knew dying would hurt this much? Note to self, if I ever considered killing myself, please note of the current pain I am enduring. The fans dematerialized at my lack of control. I closed my eyes in an attempt to concentrate and regain some movement.

_Come on! Move! I can't die here! I still need to get home. I don't want to die here. _I thought furiously as I tried to get my limbs to move or do anything to retaliate against this guy.

"Leave Katsu-nee alone!" Hinokou shouted before I felt a searing heat around us. Barely cracking an eye open, I saw the air around us shift into waves as the temperature rise.

"So the spawn finally shows his true side." Kumon said as he tosses me to the ground. I coughed heavily curling up into a painful ball.

"Shiyu, get Hinokou out of here. Shiyu can you hear me? Get him out of here!" I kept whispering painfully, hoping she would be able to hear me. Her hearing is impeccable, but this is if she willing to help. "Shiyu, please get him out of here."

"Katsuya? Oi! Katsuya!" Who's voice is that?

I can't stay awake anymore. "Please get Hinokou to safety… please…"

TBC…

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: YAY! Sorry for the super long wait… but I was just plain lazy and couldn't get my ass moving long enough to write the full chapter. I'm not sure how long before the next chapter would be… but hopefully… it doesn't take as long as this one did!

Koganei: She'll be at Otakon in August sooooo, she most likely will be slacking off again until September starts!

Mokuba: Please don't kill her! But don't forget to FRI!


	16. Chapter 16

Curse of the Nanban Mirror

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

_Come on! Move! I can't die here! I still need to get home. I don't want to die here. _

"Leave Katsu-nee alone!"

"So the spawn finally shows his true side."

"Shiyu, get Hinokou out of here. Shiyu can you hear me? Get him out of here!"

"Katsuya? Oi! Katsuya!"

I can't stay awake anymore. "Please get Hinokou to safety… please…"

**Chapter Sixteen: The Evils Unmoving, History of the Past and Unexpected Family**

_Am I dead?_ I pondered curiously when I opened my eyes to a blurred vision… Why is everything so blurry? I tried moving, but I couldn't… ghost paralysis maybe? I waited a few minutes before the grogginess in my mind cleared and my vision came back clearly. I was relieved that I hadn't lost my sight again. The ceiling was vaguely familiar, but I'm not really sure… how often do I stare at a ceiling anyway.

"It's all your fault Ranma! If it wasn't for you, Katsu wouldn't have gotten injured this badly! What the hell were you thinking when you let him go fight!?" Ryouga?

"I didn't know he went off to fight him! You think I wouldn't have stopped him if I knew!?" And that would be Ranma. They seem to be in a pretty heated fight, but at least that narrows down the places I could be in at the moment.

Now let's see if I can move…

Wiggle my big toe…

Wiggle!

…

…

…

Hmm… guess that doesn't work… Can I at least talk though? "H-hello?" my voice was raspy and my throat hurts, but at least I made some sound.

The arguing from the other two stopped before a barrage of footsteps crashed into the room. "KATSU!"

I wish I hadn't tried talking, because these two wouldn't shut the fuck up! "R-Ran, R-Ryo!" cutting down the syllables help a little with the pain.

"Katsu, how are you feeling? What made you do something completely stupid like that!?" Ranma snapped. "Don't forget that you're a girl!" he hissed quietly. I can't help but glare at him for that comment. I concentrated deeply to materialize a fan above his head before dropping it onto his head, but it disappeared before it landed. I nearly passed out; why am I exhausted beyond belief? "AH! Don't fall asleep yet! Tofu sensei!" Ranma ran out of the room to get the dear doctor.

Tofu sensei came in moments later before helping me sit up in bed before checking over my condition. The concentrated look in his eyes didn't make me feel any better. "You're not going to be able to tap into your chi for the next few days. That attack locked off some of your passageways. It's likely you'll be temporarily paralyzed until it wears off."

I felt my eye twitched. "H-how long would that be?" my voice was slowly coming back.

"Possibly a week or two… it really depends on how fast your body heals." He responded. "But for now, you should just rest." He turned to Ryouga and Ranma. "And you two should be leaving him alone."

"But—" Ryouga protested.

"Ten minutes," Tofu sensei relented. "Just so you can tell him what happened, but after that the two of you leave and let him rest."

Once the good doctor left, I narrowed my eyes and glared at the two idiots sitting in front of me. "Talk."

"That's what we should be telling you to do! What were you thinking to go against Ryu Kumon alone!?" Ranma snapped.

"Your arm." It hurts to talk too much, so I'll have to keep my answers short. Hopefully, one of these idiots would take notice and be considerate enough… hmph, when pigs—…wrong animal, Ryouga had flew quite a few times. When… darn it, what hasn't flown in this fucked up reality!? It's supposed to be a normal world I was born into!

"My arm!? You idiot!" And he continued to rant on a countless number of insults. Most are quite childish… but then again dad was never good in insult matches.

Not wanted to bother with his childishness, I just rolled my eyes and glanced over to Ryouga who just shook his head. "Listen, Katsuya, I know what you did was an attempt to help Ranma, but you really shouldn't take on people who are way over your class level at the moment. From what I've seen, you've only started a few months ago. Your improvement is great, but you still have limits to consider."

I paused and blinked a few times… Just now, Ryouga sounded like the Uncle Ryo. "Hinokou?"

"He's staying at the Tendos, Kasumi-san is watching over him right now." I gave a sigh of relief at that.

"You moron! Stupid! Dumb ass!" Ranma continued to rant.

"Time's up, everyone out!" Tofu sensei said as he re-entered the room.

"That couldn't have been ten minutes!" Ranma argued.

"Yes, but yelling at Katsuya-kun for the next five minutes isn't going to help him recover either. You can come back tomorrow. Out!" Tofu sensei ushered the two out before coming back.

I chuckled weakly as I strained myself to talk. "Are you going to scold me now too?"

Tofu smiled gently. "I'm quite certain Ranma has done enough for everyone today. I'm just going to go over your situation."

I frowned. "My situation?"

He pushed up his glasses. "I wasn't lying when I said that you'll recover in about a week or two. However, the issue is how much maneuverability you'll have after those two weeks."

I tensed. At least I think my body tensed, I can't feel anything below my neck. "Does that mean I-I'll." I found myself on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Katsuya-kun! Calm down! Just listen to what I'll say before you jump into conclusions! Your body can't take much shock right now." He placed his hands on my shoulders trying to put pressure and comfort into them, but I couldn't feel it.

I closed my eyes and took a slow breath before counting to ten. Once I reached the number, I opened my eyes again and readied myself. "Okay, you can tell me now."

Tofu sensei stared at me for a second to make sure I was ready. It turned out; some of my nerves were severed from Kumon's attacks. He said I was lucky to be alive; if it wasn't for his previous chi training, I would have been dead. And to make matters worse, I'm currently paralyzed from the neck down, pretty useless now, aren't I? Tofu sensei said he'll do his best to fix everything, but there's a high chance that I won't be able to practice martial arts anymore. The damage is so severe; I might still need crutches or at least a cane even when I recovered.

I felt the tears coming to my eyes. How could have this happened?

I…

I'm…

…

…

…

I'm just fucking with you. How many of you actually believed that Mary-sue bullshit? HAHA! I got you! Seriously, the way things seem to happen to me, it feels like the work of another messed up writer.

…

Bitches…

I want to go back to bed.

"You'll have a full recovery, but your reaction time might be slower than what you're used to. Especially with your chi points sealed off, you won't be able to assist your speedy recovery."

"So what can I do about this sensei?" I asked.

"Well, since you can't move for the next week, we can work on manipulating your remaining chi points to help you open up the other ones. Think of this as chi therapy and an extension to your previous lessons."

"Tofu sensei, is it possible for me to ask for another request?"

He blinked curiously. "Certainly, what is it?"

"I would like to learn more about the medical style you use, more in particular with the chi closing used in battle."

He seemed surprised at first but then his face turned serious. "I won't teach you."

"But!" I tried to sit up and argue but my body wouldn't move.

"If you're planning to use it as revenge against Ryu Kumon, I will definitely not teach you. My abilities are used solely for medical practice. Abusing it by using it in battle, that is something I will not allow!" He said firmly.

"But I'm not planning on fighting Kumon!" I argued in my defense. "I just wanted to be able to stop someone if—"

"If you don't get into conflicts then you won't need it! Even if you're not going to use it on Kumon, you'll eventually use it on someone else! I won't teach you!"

"But I'm doing this for Kasumi-san!" That was dirty of me, exploiting his weakness... Oh well. He became silent… I was almost worried that he'll go deranged in joy at the mere mention of her name again… but this time he seem rather calm and gathered.

"What do you mean you're doing this for Kasumi-san? What exactly is _this_?" he asked with… what might be anger?

"Kasumi-san likes Ranma!" I blurted out. Not sure if it's really the case, but I really hope that was the case. If not, my sister and my brother won't be born. But whatever that was in my mind was promptly forgotten when I saw the crushed look on Tofu-sensei's face. I almost feel guilty for doing this to the good doctor… almost, but not quite.

"Does she really…" his voice sounded so heartbroken.

"She was really worried for Ranma… and… I like Kasumi-san too… I couldn't bear to see her sad if something happened to Ranma." I know, I'm a miserable person for stabbing Tofu sensei in the heart and twisting the knife while I'm at it... but it has to be done. "Tofu sensei?"

He stood up from his seat; I couldn't see his eyes through the glare of light on his glasses. "Excuse me for a moment Katsuya-kun."

I closed my eyes trying to hear what was going on, but Tofu sensei said nothing. There was however an odd clacking of noises… chopsticks? No, much denser… wooden clogs… wait, this isn't Holland… Bones? His skeleton model maybe? I wasn't sure how long it was before my eyes drooped close and I fell asleep again.

o.o.o.o.o

Tofu sensei ended up sulking listlessly for the next few days, but nonetheless, I got my lessons from him. Since I was unable to move, for the most part I was taught the theory of how to do most of the chi point locks and paralyzing points. The lessons hadn't bothered me much, but what has bothered me was the sponge baths I've been given the past week. I feared the whole time that it would trigger my change or that he would splash me, but on my stroke of luck… or rather my guardian's close watching that I was saved from such a revelation.

Shiyu was watching from a close and hidden location. Each time I was at risk of changing, she would spray me with a jet of cold water from a water gun. After a dreadfully dull week… at least it was dull indoors. The world outside is filled with death threats, screams and whatever else that the NWC normally do to this poor district. Fortunately, my stay at Tofu sensei's clinic was only limited to one week. Once my chi points were opened, Hinokou had snuck into the clinic and hasten the rest of my recovery.

Even though Hinokou had hastened up the recovery, it still took another week before I was back to my previous level of maneuverability. I hate to have known how long it would have taken if Hinokou wasn't here. But recovery doesn't mean I'm given a moment to relax. The instant I was healed, Shiyu had dragged me out of Nerima and into the wilderness for further training. I barely had time to file an absent report to the school before we left.

"Shiyu, why are we going on a training trip? I have work to catch up on!" I grumbled as I trekked through a forest with a heavy pack on my back.

"Because you nearly got your stupid self killed! I can't save or protect you from everything and if you insist on doing something as stupid as that, I will damn well make it my business to prepare you for your own stupidity! Now shut up and get your ass moving." Shiyu snapped before weaving around the greenery with ease.

"Fine, I guess I brought this on, on myself… but can I have one more question?" I grunted as I shoved the plants aside, Shiyu refused to machete the offending plants. Apparently, she's a bit of an environmentalist… who knew? "I get the reason of the trip now… But… WHY THE HELL IS HINOKOU COMING WITH US!?" I glared at the little god riding on my backpack. "You have legs damn it, use it!"

"Vampire-san said I'm not supposed to get off your back unless you're injured," he chirped merrily. I'm sorely tempted to strangle the little brat.

Shiyu paused to turn back with her arms crossed. "He will be your healer for this trip. I am planning to train your ass to the ground. And if you collapse from exhaustion, I will not stop for you to rest."

"So I'm not allowed to rest?" I groaned.

"Don't complain. Be happy I'm allowing you to eat." She said.

"What about you? Don't you have to eat? I mean feed? There are no humans around here." I paused in mid-stride. "You're not going to feed on me are you?"

"No, I'm going to turn you," she said sarcastically. "I could feed on wild life dumb ass. It may not taste good compared to human blood, but it'll have to do until your training is over."

"Oh! Where the hell am I now!?" I heard a voice shout from a distance. Shiyu promptly disappeared in favor of hiding.

I sighed. "Ryouga? Is that you?" I shouted as I trekked towards the direction where it came from. However, as I neared, I realized it wasn't Ryouga after all.

"Eh? You know Ryouga?" I don't recognize this man at all. Though, he does show signs of a person that's been traveling in the wild for quite sometime… if his batter clothing and the grizzly beard on his face was any hint.

"Yes, Ryouga is a friend of mine. You are?" I asked curiously.

He laughed merrily as if he just won the lottery. "I'm Ryoma Hibiki, Ryouga is my son. How is he doing?"

My eyes widened in surprise, his son!? This is Ryouga's father? "He's doing fine the last time I saw him, but it's been a week or two since I've last seen him."

"Ah, it's the family curse, very common for us to disappear without notice. So what's your name lad?" he asked brightly.

"Oh how rude of me. My name is Katsuya Shinochi, a pleasure to make your acquaintance sir." I gave a quick bow.

"And I'm Hinokou!" the little god on my back greeted with a wave.

Ryoma gave a heartily laugh. "Well, would you two mind to give this old man some company until I find Osaka?"

A chance to be lazy and sneak out of Shiyu's training from hell? "Of course, it'll be my pleasure." I felt something pelt the back of my head before I rubbed it in irritation. I know Shiyu isn't happy about this, but I want to be lazy for once.

"So, what are you two youngsters doing way out here in the forest?" he asked as we trek through the forest. No doubt getting more lost as we went, but I'm not too worried. If anything, I'll just fly up later and fly back to civilization or something.

"I was supposed to do some training out in the forest. It's a little hobby." Not really, but the man doesn't need to know. I can't exactly say my crazy vampire of a guardian is kicking my ass to train.

"No doubt for martial arts right? Haha, it's not wonder you're friends with my son. He did like to dabble in that stuff, since the last time I spoke with him."

We spent a good portion of the day exchanging information about Ryouga. It's a pity that this man hadn't been able to see his son for over 10 years. True, they occasionally get lucky and talk to one another on the phone, but it's a pity they weren't able to meet… I did offer to take him to Nerima for a chance to meet up with Ryouga, but he declined, saying that it might turn into an embarrassing blubber fest on his part.

Oh, remember I said this is a chance to be lazy and sneak out of Shiyu's training from hell? I was dead wrong…

"Katsuya! Hurry it up!" Ryoma shouted to me as he quickly sprints through the forest.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I hurried after him.

It seems that from Ryoma's endless wandering, we wandered into a black bear's territory. For a man that's not into martial arts, Ryouga's father is quite the runner. I couldn't keep up after him. After five minutes I was starting to lag, but much to my surprise he fell back to grab onto my arm and dragged me alongside with him. Apparently, brute strength is not something Ryouga simply trained for. It's part of his family trait.

"Haha! Not bad for a non-martial artist aren't I?" he said as he took in a deep breath and exhaled. I was on the ground coughing up a lung trying to catch my breath. "Nothing like the fresh mountain air."

Wait… MOUNTAIN!? I stumbled onto my feet and glanced around. He was correct, we were on a mountain. "How the heck did we get up here!?"

"Yeah, that tends to happen sometimes. No worries I'll get us down!" Ryoma said.

He said that about a week ago. While I didn't get my training with Shiyu that week, I did manage to pick up a lot of survival skills against Ryouga's father. This man is possibly more dangerous then Genma. The worst part; is that he's doing it unintentionally! I lost track how many times we nearly ran off the side of the mountain, plunging into the cold sea, nearly eaten by wild animals and crushed by falling trees and boulders that seems to come out from nowhere! Despite having my chi senses, it's useless against things that aren't alive to begin with!

Now I know how Ryouga feels when he gets lost and goes through these mishaps. It's no wonder he'd mindlessly blame Ranma for this. I would go nuts after weeks of suffering through this nonsense and probably blame whoever is most convenient. However, the most annoying part must've been protecting Hinokou's ass throughout the trip. Had it been only myself and Ryoma, I think I would have faired rather well.

"Oh drats! And here I thought we were pretty close to Osaka!" Ryoma sighed in mild disappointment as we entered the city limits.

"Hibiki-san!" I called out tiredly as I dragged myself after him with a sturdy branch I found sometime ago. "I think I'm going to stay here for a little while."

"Ah, well that was a nice experience nonetheless." He slapped a heavy hand over my back before I collapsed to the ground. "Let's do this again if we ever meet again."

"YEAH! Bye, bye Ryoma oji-san!" Hinokou jumped off my back and gave the man a hug.

"Haha! I'll see you again kiddo!" He returned the hug before leaving them.

"He's nice nee-chan!" Hinokou chirped as he landed next to my fallen form.

"Yeah… Sure… Hinokou, wake me up in an hour…" I managed before passing out cold on the ground.

o.o.o.o.o

"Oh look! He's waking up nee-chan" I groaned at the voice.

"Sota, I told you to leave him alone." A soft voice scolded the first.

I placed a hand on my head as I opened my eyes and sat up. "Where am I?"

"You're at the Higurashi shrine." The girl spoke. "We found you passed out on the side of the road and saw you little brother."

"Hinokou?" I muttered before glancing up and around.

"Here!" waved the happy little god before he jumped into my arms.

"Oof!" I grunted before shifting his small body in my arms. "I thought I told you I was just going to sleep, why did you have to bother other people?"

"Oh, it's not hit fault!" The girl quickly interrupted. "We were just a bit worried. That's all."

"Neh, ni-chan, what were you doing sleeping on the ground." The boy Sota asked.

"I was traveling for a while and got lost... where am I exactly? I'm trying to head for Nerima." I answered.

"Oh, it's not too far from here. Just a few districts, you can take the train back." The girl responded.

"Kagome! Your friend is here!" a woman's voice said.

"Ah, excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back." She said before leaving.

… Something about this is starting to bug me… Something very familiar. The little god in my arms tensed. "Hinokou?"

"DEMON!!" He screamed before jumping up and ran out of the room.

"Hinokou! Stop!" I stumbled out of the futon and chased after my charge. I'm not in the mood for this.

As I hurried around the corner, I heard a voice oddly similar to Ranma's screaming. "Where have you been!? I've been waiting for days at the well!"

"I have school!" Kagome retorted just as angrily.

… This oddly sounds very familiar. Why is it? "Hinokou!" I shouted as I chased him into the room where the voices came from. "I thought I told you to…" I trailed off in disbelief.

"Kagome… Who is this?" I gapped at the person standing in front of me. Dog-like ears, red robes… Well… Rumiko Takahashi must've got it from somewhere. I should really stop getting surprised so easily, I might get shock overload and get a heart attack or something… wooh, maybe I'll get to see some Death Note people… not.

"DEMON!" I quickly placed a handover Hinokou's mouth before he could say anymore.

"Please excuse Hinokou, he says the strangest things," Hinokou whined under my hand, but I didn't relent my hold on him. "Thanks for the hospitality Kagome-san. I must get going." I said as I hurriedly left the room.

"Wait! You don't have to—" I grabbed my things and was out of the house long before she could finish her sentence. While I may have left without conflict, that little doggy friend of hers doesn't seem to agree.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die. La, da, da, daaaa." I have mumbled and half sang under my breath as I speed walk a good distance away before snapping out my fan and taking flight into the air. Even if I wanted to walk the rest of the way, with the nose of the dog it won't be an issue for him to find me. I have enough craziness in Nerima to keep me occupied; I don't need another one to try to kill me.

After flying a good distance up, I hurried towards the direction of the trains. Hopefully, no one spots the unusual fan flying in the sky. I landed on the roof of a mall before heading back down to the ground floor and towards the station. Seeing how I was in the wild for a week and haven't bathed either, I must be quite disgusting to these people. Oh well, at least they have the courtesy not to say anything if they did notice it.

When I reached Nerima, I was sorely hoping I could just head back to the apartment, take a nice long hot shower, then bath and crash into my bed and sleep for the next 48 hours. However, it is not my luck… I must've inherited the chaos factor from Ranma or something… but how come ni-chan and nee-chan didn't get it? That's just not fair!

"Katsuya-kun! You've been very naughty! Cutting school!" Hinokou jumped away as a jet of water from a gardening hose sprayed into my face.

I raised a hand to block the water as I coughed out the water that went through my nose and down the wrong path. "What on earth?!" I coughed before glancing up. "Kasumi-san!?"

She cackled evilly… well… if you can even call it evil. It sounded cute and looked adorable to me. Though, she felt weird… her chi was somewhat tainted and not giving off that gentle vibe I usually get from her.

"KATSU!" I glance over to the voice and found Ranma-chan running up to me with P-chan on her head. "Where the heck have you been all week!?"

"Ask me that later! What's going on with Kasumi-san?" I asked; trying to fend off the jet of water she's trying to spray into my face. I got a quick story of how there's an oni possessing her and how no one wanted to hit her to get the demon out. Understandable how they feel, I wouldn't want to hit her either…

"Darkness…" I flinched when I heard that come out with Kasumi's voice. "Your darkness is strong!" I saw briefly a dark aura lifted from Kasumi before everything went black.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Don't cry yet, there's still an omake immediately following what just happened. So it's not a complete cliff hanger. I felt this chapter was a bit too short anyway! Enjoy the omake!

**Omake**

The oni had left Kasumi's body when it had sense a soul with much darker intentions. The young man didn't expect a thing when he left the maiden's body and latched onto his. He had but a moment to flinch and the widening of his eyes before he was fully possessed. It was much darker, much sweeter then the innocence he had tasted earlier from the maiden.

A flex of the hand and the materialization of the fan, the oni bellow in a dark chortle. "Excellent."

"Katsu!" Ranma shouted as she hurriedly caught Kasumi and jumped away from the flare of air around him.

"Nee-chan!" Hinokou tried to get close to Katsuya, but Akane quickly caught the little god before he manages to get himself hurt.

"Hinokou! Don't! You're going to get hurt!" Akane held him back as he tried to go after his guardian.

"Quick! We need to punch him before the oni does anything!" Soun said as he charged up to attack Katsuya. However, before he even neared, the fan wielder snapped out his large fan and batted the man a good distance away before snapping the weapon open and sending squalls at the group.

Normally, the wind current created by Katsuya wouldn't have done any major harm, other then a winded punch. However, due to being possessed by the oni, there was no control in his actions. His eyes went red as he went berserk tearing up the surrounding structures and cutting into the skin and clothes of those around him.

"Aiya! Stupid boy is going to kill us all!" Shampoo shouted through the squalls. Mousse the duck was squawking furiously, trying not to get blown away by the current. He, Ranma and Ryouga were unfortunate to have been under Kasumi's earlier spray of cold water.

"Ranma! You have to go hit him!" Genma shouted to his son as she passed Kasumi to him.

"But… I can't…" Ranma muttered under her breath as she did her best to fight against the air current. Despite of the danger they're all in, Ranma still can't bring herself to hitting Katsuya. After all, she knows Katsuya was a girl in reality and it goes against his code to hit girls.

"Damn it! If you guys aren't going to do anything! I'll damn well would!" Ukyo yanked out her spatula from the ground and charged, she had embedded the weapon on the ground earlier to give her a more stable standing in the raging winds.

"Ukyo!" Ranma wanted to protest, but it died on her lips.

The okonomiyaki chef gave a battle cry as she smashed through the flying objects that was blown her way and jumped up at Katsuya. "Sorry honey, this is going to hurt you more then it'll hurt me!" She raised the spatula to smash down on the boy, but he quickly shifted out of the way before snapping his large fan close and smashing it behind Ukyo's head and sending her to the ground.

"UCC-CHAN!" Ranma shouted as she watched her friend crash to the ground soundly.

The okonomiyaki chef pushed herself off the ground with a grunt of pain. "I'm fine Ran-chan!" she hissed, using her spatula to pull herself up again.

Katsuya landed on the ground as he gave another psychotic laugh and charged at the group with a sadistic grin over his face. "Yes, show me. Show me your anger, your hate, your pain! You misery is delicious!" He cackled smashing the fan into the ground where Ranma stood moments earlier.

"Ranma! What are you doing!? Hit him!" Ukyo shouted.

Katsuya was open for the hit, but Ranma couldn't do it. By then, the possessed fan wielder had recovered and went off to attack the next closest person, which happened to be Shampoo. "AIYE!" Shampoo jumped out of the way as she felt the sharpness of the wind. It had slashed the side of her arm, leaving a bloody gash.

"Hehe, come here kitty, kitty. I will paint the town red with all your blood!" His voice cracked as he continued to laugh.

"Stupid boy will pay for that!" Shampoo snapped angrily as she pulled out some soup spoons and forks to pelt at Katsuya before she pulled out her bonboris and charged.

Katsuya snapped the fan open as a shield against her weapons before pushing forward, using the fan as a wall to separate them. Shampoo stumbled a bit before jumping a good distance away. Momentum was on his side, and to push back needlessly was just a waste of energy. When he lost the pressure from Shampoo's resistance, Katsuya stumbled forward before catching himself.

"Leaving so soon?" he giggled.

"He's gone completely mad!" Mousse said once he reverted back to his human form. Nabiki had run off to get some hot water during the commotion.

"Who would've thought that Katsuya is a closet psycho," Nabiki commented wryly as she poured hot water over Ryouga, but at the same time, she kept a close eye on the possessed underclassmen. "I didn't know he could do as much as he did."

"Okay, with us and Ranma, there shouldn't be a problem with getting Katsuya out of that oni's grip!" Mousse declared boldly, but he hadn't noticed that Ryouga had grimaced. Like Ranma, he couldn't bring himself to punch Katsuya. If they were willing, the fight would have ended long ago.

Mousse quickly charged and sent out his barrage of weapons at Katsuya. The fan wielder merely hid behind his fan for protection as he done so.

"I don't know why the two of you are reluctant to hit your friend, but if you don't stop him soon, he's going to die from chi-exhaustion." Cologne pogo over to the two. "From the looks of it. It doesn't look like your friend is going to last much longer with the way the oni is using him."

Ranma and Ryouga gritted their teeth, torn at what to do. Mousse was doing an outstanding job of keeping Katsuya as bay with his constant barrage of attacks, but with a well-timed wave of the fan, the weapons were sent back at him. With a quick flick of the wrists, he manages to send the weapons back at Katsuya. The young man took flight into the air to dodge the weapons before materializing two other fans to use as project tiles as he toss them at Mousse.

"Ranma! Ryouga! There isn't much time left!" Cologne snapped.

The two were about to go when. "YAHOO! Happy day! Gracious day for me!" Happosai had entered the vicinity. "What are you lot doing?"

"Happy! This is not the time!" Cologne snapped.

"AGH!" The group quickly turned their attention back to Katsuya as he had a hand on his head; the darkness of oni was lifting. "Dark! Much darker! Much more powerful!" the disembodied voice snarled from Katsuya's lips. "I must have it!"

"Shit!" Ryouga shouted as the oni left Katsuya and went into Happosai. The fan wielder lost consciousness as he plummeted to the ground. The lost boy barely caught him before he smashed head down first into the concrete.

"Him I have no issues with hitting!" Ranma quickly caught Katsuya's fan, smashing the old man on the head snapped a squall at Happosai before it fully disappeared. The little cretin of a man screamed as he was sent flying into the distance with the oni materializing outside of his body. "And stay away damn it!" Ranma shouted furiously as the fan disappeared.

"Nee-chan!" Hinokou shouted as he broke from Akane and ran over to Ryouga and Katsuya's fallen body. Everyone else cringed and backed away slightly.

"We, better take him to Tofu sensei…" Ryouga reasoned before anyone said anything.

Ranma was the only one to willingly accompany him to the good doctor's place. Apparently, everyone found a little fear out of their resident fan wielder that day… and despite of all this. Said fan wielder would not remember a thing when he wakes the next day and finds himself completely at lost to why people were avoiding him for the next few days.

"I wonder what gotten into them?" Katsuya pondered curiously before shrugging and going about his normal business, completely unaware of the irony of the whole situation.

o.o.o.o.o

CM Aeris: Well, how's that for an omake for you? Well, I'm in a good mood x and I got myself a nice black hat that resembles Duo Maxwell's hat! YAY for me!

Koganei: She's just happily stupid over a new hat, so just ignore whatever nonsense that's coming out of her mouth.

Killua: FRI!


	17. Chapter 17

**Curse of the Nanban Mirror**

**Chapter Seventeen: Another Prince? **

"HOOOOOOOT!" Ranma-chan whined as she draped herself out of my window. "Why is it so hot!?

"Ranma, move away from my window, you're blocking the barely existing air flow." I said dryly as I scribbled furiously the translations to the latest batch of movies Yamamoto sent me.

"How do you stand this heat?" she whined.

I didn't even both to look up as I answered. "The more you whine and moan about this, the hotter you'll be, just stop thinking about it and you'll eventually cool down. Think of snowy mountains or ice caps or something."

"Katsu-nee! I wanna play! Stop working already!" Hinokou whined as he jumped on my back.

"Yeah! Katsu-_nee._" Ranma snickered. Surprisingly, these two idiots get along quite well and since they both know about my gender issue, they found it a hobby to mock my situation whenever possible.

"Shut up _Ranko-chan_," I retorted lazily as I flipped the page and continued with my work. "Why are you in my apartment anyhow? It's only ten in the morning. Akane couldn't have possibly kicked you out of the house already."

"The freak wouldn't leave me alone, and it's too hot to be fighting him." She reasoned.

I paused and glanced up. "Ranma Saotome, actually doesn't want to fight? This is a rarity! Where's the hell committee that plan this!?" I did a mock look around as if someone was hiding.

"Very hilarious Katsu," she snorted.

_**RING, RING**_

"I got it!" Hinokou jumped off my back and ran off to get the phone while Ranma went off to raid my fridge for popsicles. "Kasumi-nee?" I glanced up from my work curiously. "A ride on a yacht? What's a yacht? Oh! You want to talk to Katsu-nee? Wait a sec!" He quickly dragged the corded phone to me as far as it went before I quickly got up and grabbed it before he yanked the cord from the socket.

"Hello Kasumi-san," I greeted once I scrambled over to the phone, nearly running into the wall.

"Katsu-chan, I was just telling Hinokou that Kuno invited the family and some friends on a trip in the seas with his new yacht. Would you like to come too?" she asked sweetly.

"A yacht trip?" This should really trigger some memory of the series, but with this new translation, it's quite hard to think. After all, how can you think of anything else when the movie is called Blacula!? Seriously, this is the first time I've even heard of this movie.

"We're going to be at the docks. Oh, is Ranma over there by any chance? We're not going to be home tonight for dinner. So please tell him to come if you're planning to come."

"I'll be sure to tell him." I said.

"You're coming right Katsu-chan?" she asked.

I wanted to say no… but it's always hard to say no to her. "I'll be there Kasumi-san. Bye." I hanged up before turning to Ranma. I felt the side of my head pulse in irritation. "Don't eat all of my sea salt ice cream!" She and Hinokou were gobbling away my ice cream.

o.o.o.o.o

Ten minutes later, I found myself sitting on the deck… continuing my translations… I think I'm starting to become a workaholic… Where the hell did this come from? I know Ran-nee had that issue, but Genyu-ni is a lazy ass.

"Foul apprentice, normally I would banish you, but seeing I'm in a good mood and your foul master sorcerer is not here, I'll leave you be." Kuno declared loudly.

"Hmm? Yeah, sure…" I said before erasing furiously at my last two lines before rewriting it again, stupid Kuno, I wrote exactly what he just said instead of the actual lines.

"Whee!!!" Hinokou screamed in delight from above.

"Hinokou-kun! Please come down! It's dangerous up there!" Akane tried to get my charge down from the mast. "Katsuya! Get him down! He could fall and hurt himself!"

I gave a shrug. "Listen to Akane-nee, Hinokou."

"Take a break Katsuya; you're on a yacht for god sake." Nabiki said as she took a seat next to me.

I turned to her pushing my glasses back up the bridge of my nose. "Sempai, I have bills to pay and a guest that crashes into my house nearly every night to feed. In addition, I've been out of action for over three weeks and I'm quite behind on my work. Please excuse me, when I say… fuck off."

She laughed in amusement. "Do try to relax; it's not much fun on this trip without someone with at least some intelligence to talk to on this trip."

"Don't you have some idiots to exploit, sempai?" I sighed flipping through my work before putting it back into my backpack and grabbed another set to do.

"Don't you have a charge to look after?" she retorted with a smile in her voice.

"Ah, touché." I responded.

"Hey, it looks like a storm is coming… Shouldn't we head back?" Ukyo noted.

"Hmm… Maybe you're right." Ranma wondered as she looked at the clouds.

"No worries ladies, my yacht can withstand any storm, any challenge! Bring it on!" Kuno obnoxiously declared to the sky.

"Oh hey!!! Raijin and Fujin are up there!" Hinokou said brightly as he jumped from the mast and into Akane's arms.

"Hinokou! You shouldn't have done that! Did you know how dangerous that was!?" Akane scolded.

"Shouldn't you go save your charge?" Nabiki asked.

"He asked for it when he jumped," I said lazily.

"_Idiot, head under the deck, a storm is coming!_" I paused and glanced up when I heard Shiyu's voice, but didn't even see a hair of her anywhere. Instead, I saw the looming dark cloud Ukyo was talking about early.

"Though, we should probably head inside now, before the storm hits." I said before getting up and in before anyone else.

o.o.o.o.o

"My yacht!" Kuno screamed in anguish after storm and a havoc induced moment by Ranma and Happosai.

"There goes our ride home," Nabiki sighed as she sunbathed.

"Is something wrong, Katsuya?" Ryouga asked as I help him and Akane out on the shelter building. "You seemed dazed."

"Yeah, you looked like you were in a deep thought for a second, and then lost, the next." Akane added.

I frowned as I tied the logs tightly with a foot planted firmly against it as I pulled. "It feels like I'm forgetting something… Something very important, but I can't seem to remember what it is…" I shrugged. "Probably will come back to me later."

"RANMA! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE AND HELP!" Akane roared a moment later, tossing the hammer into Ranma's head. I winced at the impact; if that had hit my head, I would be unconscious and bleeding.

"Katsu-nee! Katsu-nee! Vampire lady wants to talk to you!" Hinokou said.

"Vampire lady?" Soun glanced up from his shouji game with Genma, before the panda quickly switched up the pieces.

"One of Hinokou's imaginary friends. He was talking to Raijin and Fujin earlier on the yacht before the storm." I lied. "Uh… excuse me, I need a little break. I'm starting to get a slight cramp in my arm."

"So, you want to talk to vampire lady?" Hinokou asked.

I gave a fake sigh and a little show to everyone else making them think I'm just playing along with him. "Yes, I'll talk to the vampire lady, where is she?"

"I'll take you to her!" he chirped before grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the forest.

For about five minutes, he rambled on about how Raijin and Fujin was making fun of him and how he insulted them back. Apparently, he pissed them off enough to strike down Kuno's ship more then necessary. Otherwise, the ship would have just suffered mild tears on the sails and maybe some scratches on the side… Aw crap, I have a delinquent as a charge! What god did I piss off, seriously!? Oh wait… he is the god I pissed off. Never mind.

"Well, moron, find choice of a place to crash on." Shiyu commented the instant I felt no other chi other then ours around.

"It's not like I was the one steering the boat. What got your panties up in a bunch?" I crossed my arms defensively.

"You landed on kidnap island." She snapped.

"… There's actually a place named kidnapped island?" I asked stupidly. No, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm actually, curious if that really is the case.

"No stupid, that's what it is. People land here and they get kidnapped. Normally, the targets are girls, but they have occasionally kidnapped boys by accident as I have seen once or twice."

"So pretty much, stay male and as inconspicuous as possible."

"No, I meant for you to turn girl, wearing nothing more then a bikini top with a g-string, dumb ass!" Can't you just hear the love in each sarcastically biting word? "You should probably keep an eye out for your mother and aunts if you don't want something happening to them as well."

"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind. Hinokou, let's head back before they come looking for us."

"Bye, bye miss vampire!" Hinokou waved before latching onto my arm before we walked back to the camp site. However, as we got there we found Soun crying.

My heart dropped when I heard who it was. "KASUMI! OH MY DEAR KASUMI! WHY!?"

I hurried over before Soun grabbed onto my shoulders. "Katsuya-kun! They've taken Kasumi! My Kasumi!" he wailed on my shoulders.

"Who took Kasumi-san?" I asked trying to pry the man off me.

"Don't know, but whoever took her, left this," Nabiki said with a frown as she held up a peach.

A peach… damn it, why does it sound familiar? Never mind. Shiyu wasn't kidding about this place being Kidnap Island. "What about Ukyo and Shampoo? Are they okay? And where's Akane?" I asked.

She shook her head. "They all spread out. Ranma and Akane should be exploring somewhere."

"Hmm… I'm a little worried about Ukyo. Unlike the rest of us, she's alone. I'm going to go find her. Hinokou, you stay here with everyone else." I said before shrugging off my bag and handing it to him.

"But—!" he tried to argue but I gave him a glare.

"You're staying here." I ordered before turning to Nabiki. "Sempai, please keep an eye on him."

"One thousand yen." She said simply.

I sighed. "I'll give it to you after we get home." With that, I quickly jogged off towards the smell of okonomiyaki. I gave a sigh of relief when I hear the sizzle of a flipped okonomiyaki. "Ukyo-san!"

Scantily clad in her bikini set, she turned to me before giving a grin. "Hey sugar, I thought you were staying with the Tendos. Came over for some special Ukyo okonomiyaki instead?"

"Nah, I think that's reserved for Ranma." I grinned brightly before she blushed. "I think you should stay with the Tendos tonight. Something strange is going on, Kasumi-san got kidnapped."

Her eyes widened. "What happened?"

"We don't know yet, but you shouldn't be out here alone at least. Come on, it's safer in groups. I'll walk you back before I go check on Shampoo, Mousse and Cologne-san."

"Sure, give a second," she said before scurrying about to quickly pack away her items.

I was quite willing to let her be and wait, until I felt an unfamiliar chi drawing near. I looked around but saw nothing. "Ukyo-san, you better hurry."

"Is something—" I quickly turned when she got cut off.

"Ukyo-san!" I shouted and found a peach on the ground.

"Katsuya!" "Katsuya-kun!" I turned to see Genma and Ryouga run up to me.

"It got Ukyo." I said before tossing the peach to them. "I'm going to check on Shampoo."

"Katsuya! I'll go with you." Ryouga said. I wanted to protest, but he grabbed me by the arm and started leading me the wrong way.

"Ryouga! It's the other way!" I had to steer him.

o.o.o.o.o

We were too late to warn the others. Shampoo was already gone by the time we got there. At the moment, everyone was holding a meeting to plan on what to do before Akane gets taken. She's the last girl in this group. While they were planning, Akane took up the mantle as the hostess and decided to serve everyone tea…

"Here you go Katsuya-kun! It should taste fine." She chirped brightly. She doesn't seem too worried that everyone was slowly being taken away… but then again, this means she gets to cook.

"Uh… thanks?" I said hesitantly as I accept the steaming murky goop that was in the cup.

"You're not going to drink that are you?" Ranma whispered loudly… though, I don't see why people do that… When they whisper, they're actually much louder then when they are speaking normally.

"Shut up Ranma!" Akane tossed the tray at him.

It hit soundly on his head and bounced back quickly. Had I known the tray was going to attack me next, I would have dodged or have my fan block. Instead, it smashed the cup in my hand and spilled the hot murky water onto me. I quickly darted out of the house when the water hit and ran and attempted to run towards the beach to get the cold water to turn me back into a guy.

However, before I even managed halfway through, a shadow appeared below me and dragged me under. "Katsu-nee!" I heard Hinokou shouted before the night sky disappeared from my view.

"Hmm… not as cute as the other girls, but you'll do." I heard a high pitch voice cracking in the darkness.

"Where is Kasumi-san and the others!? You took them didn't you!? Who the hell are you people!?" I snapped.

"Sassy. You'll be an interesting candidate. Now if only you learn to shut up!" he snapped before he pulled me out of the darkness and towards a big… tree? I blinked trying to get my eyes focusing back to having light again. "Come on girl! Your clothing is atrocious! You look like a boy!"

A vein throbbed irritation on the side of my head before I was about to introduce him to Mr. Dirt -and Miss Ass-kicking… at least I was going to, until I noticed he looked like a monkey. "… Monkey…"

He hissed angrily. "I'm not a monkey!"

"Ape," I corrected.

"Don't test your luck girl!" he snapped as he dragged me along and into the tree… house… thing…

I must have a death wish of some sort; I've been pissing off people left and right lately… Getting the tar beaten out of me by Kumon, getting dragged off by Shiyu for training, but instead I ended up with a much crueler experience with Ryoma… holy shit, I've been hanging out with my grandfather for a week! And I haven't even noticed! Why do I think of the strangest things in the most inappropriate times?

"Get in!" he said before shoving me off the edge.

I gave a yelp as I landed on something soft and squishy. "Damn it! Tell me where did you take Kasumi-san and the others!" I shouted.

"… Katsuya?" I tensed when I heard Nabiki's voice. I quickly zipped up my loose sweat shirt and turned around. Good thing it's so dark here, or else they'll definitely notice.

"Sempai?" I called out.

"Katsuya!" Ukyo weaved through the crowd.

"Stupid boy!" Shampoo followed shortly with a loose grip on Kasumi's hand. I'll have to ask later why.

"How did you get kidnapped? Did they mistake you for a girl?" I can hear the grin in Nabiki's voice.

Kasumi quickly left Shampoo's side silenced Nabiki with a gentle hand against her mouth. "I think it's best that they don't know the truth to Katsu-chan." Thank you Kasumi!

"We're going to have to change _her_ clothes then. Maybe they might have mistaken her earlier, since there weren't any other girls around at the time, but here, it won't take more then a second for someone to figure out, since there are obviously more girls then before." Ukyo reasoned.

"Oh! We get to pretty up stupid bo-girl!" Shampoo giggled as she clapped her hands together and corrected herself.

"What?! Wait! No!" I shouted out.

"You do a pretty good girl voice… is there something else you and Ranma were doing while he was over at your place?" Nabiki raised a brow.

I quickly raised a hand to cover my mouth. I forgot about the difference in octaves in my different forms! "It's not what you think!"

"Don't worry Katsu-chan; they won't judge you and your hobbies. It's time to put it to good use now," Kasumi chirped.

"Wait! No!" I protested.

o.o.o.o.o

"… Did you really have to do this?" I grumbled under my breath ten minutes later. As they were giving me the torture of a lifetime, they informed me of the situation. The story is that we're all guests for some sort of event, but no one is telling us anything about said event.

"Tada!" Ukyo chirped as she put the mirror in front of me.

Taking a brief glance I screamed. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO!? I-I look like a girl!"

"It looks cute Katsu-chan!" Kasumi chirped.

"No! Put it back the way before! NO!!!" I wailed.

"Hmm… Stupid b-girl, makes a decent girl." Shampoo pondered as she circled me.

"Sempai! I'll buy you lunch! Make them change it back!" I begged.

"I think I like you this way." She grinned evilly.

"You-you! Girls are evil!" I wailed and curled up in a corner sulking while they giggled in amusement.

"Where are you taking me?!" Akane's voice broke their giggle fest as another body fell from above and landed on the cushions.

"Just stay there!" the monkey man shouted down before the doors slammed shut.

In the next five minutes the group of girls had their little reunion and gave Akane a quick run down as they have done to me earlier… without the ten minutes of torture.

"Oh my god! They took Katsuya-kun too! Where is he? Is—?" she asked before Kasumi covered her mouth before my gender problem is released.

The group of girls giggled before pointing to my little dark corner. "Katsu-chan is over there."

In this lighting, I can't see what's on Akane's expression as she came closer… well… at least until she gave a scream. "AHHHHHHHH! KATSU GOT TURNED INTO A GIRL!!!! PERVERT!" she screamed before pulling out her mighty mallet and attacked me.

I quickly rolled out of the way before stumbling to get up and run. "Akane-san! Stop attacking me!"

"Akane, calm down!" Ukyo grabbed her and pulled her back. "Katsuya isn't… it was just a mistake."

Shampoo cracked up laughing. "Stupid b-girl is more girly then Akane! H-She was taken before Akane!"

I swear I saw a battle aura flare up around Akane. "DIE!!!" She screamed before charging at me again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't do anything!" I screamed trying to get her to calm down and not kill me.

It really must suck for her self-esteem. To have a guy get kidnapped before she did. It took about half and hour of non-stop chasing and running on my part before Akane finally calmed down enough to worry over Ranma and the others. From her story, they were in quite a battle with this prince dude named Touma... Touma… Touma… nope, not a freaking clue to why he sounds familiar.

"So… why is your hair done up like that and that make up on your face!" Akane said in awe. "You actually look like a girl like this!"

"Don't remind me!" I huffed in irritation as the other girls giggled.

"Ladies," we all looked up when the doors opened and a masked Mohawk man spoke. "In a moment, you will all be escorted to prepare for you debut to Prince Touma. Please take great consideration toward how you present yourself to the prince."

With that, he left and a group of muscular men appeared before escorting everyone to another room filled with dresses and whatnots. "… I am not wearing a dress." I said stubbornly with my arms crossed.

"Do you want to fight through all those guards?" Nabiki commented dryly as she lazily glanced through the large selection of clothing.

"I rather do that then embarrass myself in one of these things," I grumbled before realizing the danger of this situation. "And I'm a guy!" I hissed out, if they get me into a dress, I am completely screwed. From what I've seen so far, there isn't any cold water around.

"Come on Katsuya, I'll help you," Kasumi smiled warmly as she pulled me aside to pick something.

"Kasumi-san, I can't do this!" I hissed.

"Don't worry, just leave everything to me," she chirped reassuringly patting my hand before working her magic.

o.o.o.o.o

After hours of preparation, we were all escorted to the main hall, where a banquet was ready and the girls were mostly lounging about. Kasumi had chosen a modest dress that covered up everything, the only skin seen is my hands and face. If I do have the misfortune of changing back before Ranma and the others get here, the guards wouldn't notice. Meanwhile, Nabiki had made it her priority to exploit each and everyone of these men for their services. The other girls had opted to just sit and wait patiently for the event to start while drinking some fruity beverages.

I on the other hand went exploring. Something about this place is disturbingly familiar; I just can't put my finger on it to why it is so familiar. As I walked around I can't help but shudder in disgust at the amount of skin these girls are showing. Seriously, they get kidnapped and possibly forced into becoming some sex crazed maniac's harem or get sold off. Judging from what I see, this whole damn place is filled with males. They could easily just be toying with all of these idiots and just decide to rape and do whatever they wish with these girls!

…

…

…

…

Holy shit, I just had an Akane overload.

"Miss, you're not allowed out of this hall." One of the guards said with an arm out to block my path.

"I need to use the restroom," I lied. The two guards looked at each other reluctantly. "I've been here for hours; I need to use the restroom!"

"… Of course, this way," one of them said before leading me away. When we were far enough from that big hall, I quickly materialized my huge fan and smashed it over the guard's head.

"Now, let's see which way to go…" I said before dematerializing the fan. No need to keep it around and waste energy. I was about to run when I tripped from stepping on my dress, the heels didn't help my sense of balance either. I ended up falling flat on my face. "Ow!" I whimpered as I held my face in pain. "Stupid dress! Stupid shoes" I cursed before taking off the pesky shoes and tied up the bottom of my dress to my knees.

Not really sure where I'm going, but I'm hoping to get out and find Ranma and the other for help. Though… the choice to run around without knowing where I was going isn't all that wise either. The second I turned around the corner I crashed into someone. This time I barely caught myself before I fell again. It's just not my luck today, is it?

"Why is this girl out here?" I glanced up and spotted a girly young man with a long teal bandanna wrapped around his head and the rest dangling at his side. Yes, I called him girly while I'm stuck in a girly dress myself, got a problem with that?

"My prince! This girl must've wandered off from the others," Mr. Monkey said before turning to me. "Get back to the others!"

I took a step back when he tried to grab me. "Like hell I'm going back. You guys must be nuts thinking I'm going along with this!" I materialized my fans in preparation when the Mr. Monkey took up a fighting stance to take me down.

"You must not have gotten the warning when we took you in have you?" the girly young man named Touma said calmly.

"What warning?" I glared.

He lifted the gourd on his side casually. "Either you peacefully listen to us or we'll turn you into a man."

"Don't make me laugh," I snapped back.

"This is permanent," he said seriously. "Even if you can fight, you can't dodge the strike of water that easily. So why don't you be a good little girl and listen to your superiors?"

"You're not my superior! You little ass wipe!" I threw two wind sickles at them before turning my heel to run the other way. While I'm pissed off and want to kick their ass, I have no clue what their fighting style is and since they've managed to kidnap me and so many others, they're not simple either. ARGH! I'm so fucking pissed off!

"You're not getting away that easily!" Mr. Monkey shouted a short distance behind me.

Oh come on! Can't I get a break for once in this miserable world?! I hissed in frustration as I turned another corner, but only to face Mr. Dogman. I quickly dropped onto my bottom and slide between his legs before getting up and running again.

"Shiyu! Where are you!?" I cried out in a desperate plead for my silent guardian to help me.

"Mirage Illusion!" I heard someone shout before I felt something hit me in the back.

I stumbled forwards as something enveloped me into something. I wasn't really sure what, but the next second I found myself running through the halls again, but this time no one was following me.

"Huh?" I stopped running and looked around. "Where did they?"

"Hey idiot!" Shiyu called out.

I quickly turned around and spotted her not too far from me. "Shiyu!" I shouted in delight as I ran up to her.

"Don't get close to me you filth." She hissed.

"What?" I stopped in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Even after all I've taught you, you've learned nothing! Stupid just like your fathers!" she snapped.

"What the heck is wrong with you? So what if both my biological parents are two weird males?! What does that have to do with me?!" I snapped back, why the hell is she picking on me? "Look, we can talk about this later; I need to get out to get Ranma and the others to help Kasumi and the others."

"He already saved them and left."

"What?! When did he do that?!" I can't believe this!

"You're not worth saving. I've already told Riolu to destroy the mirror. You won't be able to go home, ever."

"What!?" The hell?! This can't be happening. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself.

"Calming yourself won't work; you're just like your father. A berserker, a delinquent!"

"Okay, that's it! You're fucking going down!" I snapped before pulling out my fans and charging at her. However, I felt myself slow down immensely as if I was stuck in mud. I couldn't move and inch despite of all my efforts. "Get over here so I can kick your ass!" I snarled.

"Idiot," she said before pulling out a scythe. "You're not even worth living!" I couldn't move. Her scythe came closer and closer until—

"IDIOT! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Shiyu's voice made my eyes snap open.

Surrounding me was a black goop of some sort; I felt my vision shifting in between her and the image of her coming at me with her scythe. It was then I realized I was stuck in an illusion and this goop surrounding me is the cause of it. Punching it and struggling was no use, the goop wouldn't let up. Shiyu had tried to reach in and pull me out, but her hands can't break through the goop either. Damn it! How the hell do I get out!?

I paused for a moment, thinking back to Mr. Monkey. I vaguely recall it was his voice that shouted out something earlier. Mr. Monkey, illusions… holy shit, I'm in the second movie. Then this thing I'm stuck in was the same thing Ryouga was supposed to be in later… how did he get out? Oh right, the lion's roar blast… But how the hell am I supposed to do that!?

"Wake up you idiot! This is no time to be sleeping!" she snapped. What can I do? "Don't tell me you're giving up! I didn't waste all my effort just to have you die here!"

Give up? I snarled, "Like hell I'm giving up!"

I materialized my fans and tried cutting through the goop with my wind sickles, but the goop only stretched and adjusted to my attacks. Each failed attempt only served to piss me off even further until I forced a large amount of chi behind my next batch of wind sickles. This time, the goop was straining to contain my attack. I added much vigor to sending more of the wind sickles until it finally broke through and sliced into the walls. The remaining goop dissipated before I collapsed to the ground in a tired heap.

"Seems like you improved," Shiyu commented.

"Shut… (Huff) up," I breathed heavily on the ground.

"You're lucky they decided to just leave you here and deal with you later or I wouldn't be able to do anything for you."

"Where are the others?" I asked tiredly.

"Still in that big hall, apparently, they've started some event there."

"I'm wiped…" I lay there tiredly.

"At least hide in a room to rest idiot, there's one up ahead that you can use. I suggest you change out of those clothes and change back to your male form while you're at it."

"How do you suppose I do that? I don't know where my clothes are." I grunted as I sat up.

"Don't take me as a dimwitted fool as you and your fathers are," she said before tossing me my clothes and a bottle of cold water.

"Uh… can you help me up? I don't have any energy left after that last attack," I laughed sheepishly.

"Idiot," she muttered before kneeling down and helping me haul my ass off the ground before limping to the closest empty room where I can change and rest without being interrupted. "You should rest for now, I'll check on the others for you."

"Shiyu, you're the best," I murmured tiredly before falling asleep, comfortably changed back to my normal clothes and into my male form.

o.o.o.o.o

"Katsuya-kun! Katsuya-kun!" I winced as a hand roughly shook me awake.

"Nee-chan!"

Groggily I opened my eyes and squinted to see who woke me. "Saotome-san? Hinokou?" I asked tiredly.

"Where are the others?" Ryouga's voice came next.

"They're in… a hall down ugh…" I placed a hand on my head. It was throbbing painfully.

"Where are they Katsuya-kun!?" Soun shook me roughly.

"S-stop!" I tried to stop him from shaking me.

"Tendo-san!" Ryouga dragged the man aside before coming back to me. "Where are they Katsuya?"

"They're held in a big hall, I'm not too sure where."

"What happened to you?" he asked me.

"Was attacked… illusions…" I couldn't make myself comprehensible.

"Come on Katsuya, let's get you out of here," Ryouga said before I found myself hauled onto his back and they left the room.

The next ten minutes was complete chaos. From running into a room full of guards to being chased by said guards to the main hall where the girls were competing it was hectic and unpredictable to counter. Ranma was amongst the competitors doing her best, while Akane had snuck up to t he balcony to smack the prince. It didn't take long for the prince to fall in love with her and swept her away to another part of this weird place.

Moments later the rest of the girls were taken by the men to become their wives. Among them were Kasumi and the others. I really wanted to help, but fighting that illusion… I'm completely tired out. "Ryouga…"

"What is it Katsuya?" he asked when they were deciding what to do.

"Just leave me here, you guys will be able to work better without having to take care of me, I'll be fine."

"But—"

"Did you not hear what he said!? They're going to be their wives! What the fuck do you think they'll do to them!?" I snapped.

"I'll stay with nee-chan!" Hinokou added before they left without a second complaint.

"Hinokou… do you think you can heal chi exhaustion?" I asked weakly.

"Of course!" He chirped before raising his hands to me.

"Thanks," I murmured as I allowed him to use his healing abilities.

"Don't tell me you're planning to go fight again," Shiyu's voice interrupted as Hinokou continued.

"Not much else I can do otherwise… Besides, Kasumi is part of that group of girls being taken. I have to go help." I argued.

Shiyu sighed. "I'm surrounded by masochistic idiots."

Once recovered, I was still exhausted; however, at least I could still fight. Stretching my chi senses I felt for Kasumi's chi before chasing after it. It's on the same floor, that much I'm certain. However, when I reached there I found the man on the floor eating what seems to be a meal made by Kasumi.

"Oh! Katsu-chan! I'm glad you're okay! You went missing earlier and I got worried. Are you hungry?" she asked sweetly.

I gave a weak laugh. "Kasumi-san?'

"Oh, he's a soldier here; he said he likes my cooking very much." She quipped.

"I… see…" I really don't see.

"So would you like some food too?"

"I do!" Hinokou chirped up before taking a seat next to the soldier.

"I guess…" And so… rather then fighting tooth and nail like the others, I was enjoying dinner made by Kasumi with one of the soldiers in this place and Hinokou… Ironic isn't it?

Later, when the place shook, the soldier had dragged us out of the tree structure and watched as a geyser of water came from the top of the tree. Ranma and Akane came flying out of it as well. When everything settled, Touma had apologized for his misdoings and promised to better himself, yada, yada, yada. Apparently, Akane is very good at converting people to do stuff. Unfortunately, the island will be floating about for a week before it reaches Japan and my translations was left on that kidnap island. Fuck! Some vacation this turned out to be! I have to do it all over again when I get back home! Man, I really hate vacations here.

o.o.o.o.o

Cm Aeris: Finally done! Just in time for the holidays! No comments I have for this chapter, but happy holidays for whoever that celebrates turkey day!

Koganei: FRI!


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